What It Takes To Be An Athlete

I chose motivation as my construct because I am very curious at what drives people and keeps them on track to reach goals, deadlines, and thing of this nature. Motivation of course is not something that can be measured, nor could it possibly measured accurately. First motivation can be defined in multiple ways to different people. Internal and external influences that fuel desire and energy in people to be continually involved and faithful to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the strength of desire

Every elite athlete makes it look easy. Splashing through the water or striding gracefully down the track making it look effortless. Some people assume they are “naturals,” that their perfect DNA sequence is what has brought them to this level. Others argue that hard work and drive is what has made the difference, separating the elite from the average. These thoughts are the ones that give rise to the age-old nature vs. nurture debate. Countless hours of studies and research has concluded: it’s both. High performance sports consultant Ross Tucker puts it this way, “The science of success is about the coming together of dozens, perhaps hundreds of factors” (1). The relationship of such factors, including genetics, types and lengths of

Motivation in sports is why people do what they do. It is also the direction and intensity of one’s effort and determination to achieve. The more motivated one is, the more likely one is to succeed.

Dedication is key. No matter how hard it is to journey through something, dedication is what gets one through in the end. Even though things may get rocky and rough, the effort one puts in can turn the situation around completely. Dedication boosts one’s confidence in themselves. It helps one believe that if they can make it through what seems to be the worst of things, they can make it through to the end of anything.

Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. For an athlete, motivation can be the difference between waking up at 5:00 a.m. to go for a mile run versus sleeping in. It could be the difference between putting in an extra set of reps in the weight room versus going to the mall with friends. It could be putting in extra time at practice versus going on a date. Motivation is necessary to augment ability. It’s extremely important because one will face tests from fatigue, pain, boredom and outside desires that will challenge the athlete’s focus on becoming the best they can be. Motivation is the center of success, it can be thought of as a tree with the other factors being branches that stem from motivation. It will effect the mental aspects of game preparation, the physical aspects of nutrition, conditioning and sleep. Finally, it will affect the coaching side in terms of training. Some athletes can get through high school and college off size and athleticism.

Motivation is something that we as human beings all possess. There is obvious levels of motivation, these levels make a substantial difference between a regular Joe and a multi-billion dollar executive. What drives a person to reach his/her full potential is motivation, whether good or bad. Sometimes tragedy as awkward as it may sound will provide

As a casual reader of the sports section of this newspaper, you come across many articles depicting the triumphs of local athletes. However, very rarely do these articles describe the actual athlete behind the success. Athletes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They range from the incredibly talented to the horribly uncoordinated. Some are great teammates while others would rather be a one man team. Certain athletes seek out attention from the people around them while others are modest and stay in the background. The fact of the matter is that there is a wide spectrum of different types of athletes that exist in this world and no two athletes are exactly the same. However, each can be put

Sustaining motivation can be tough under the best of circumstances. One of the ways to stay motivated is to set a goal and visualize it down. For athletes, they visualize their performance ahead of time. Another way is to make a list of the reasons you want to accomplish the goal. It is crucial to write down the list with a pen. Moreover, when people write by their hand and connect the letters manually, they engage the brain more actively in the process. A different way to maintain inspired is to break the goal down into smaller pieces. Furthermore, if people take on a project and try to do the whole thing all at once, they are going to be overwhelmed. They need to break it down into the smallest realistic steps and only do one at a time. In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Beah was a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. His village was attacked by rebels. Then, he was forced to join an army unit who brainwashed him into using guns and drugs. Later on, he witnessed a great deal of violence and UNICEF removed him from the army and put him into a rehabilitation program. With the help of some of the staff, he was able to return to a normal civilian life and get off drugs. Even though Beah had a terrible experience from the civil war, he was able to stay strong through willpower, not listening to peer pressure, and eventually had no free will to disobey his superior commanders.

To be an athlete, especially one of the three sport variety, is a huge undertaking, as it requires year-round commitment and a passion for hard work. Personally, I have played consistently in three sports since the fifth grade, and I believe this lifelong dedication has paid off for me. It’s impossible to put all of your energy into being an athlete, because while becoming successful in sports is one thing, it is an entirely more important matter to become a successful student. Balancing this can be hard and it is that balance which must be perfected in order to become a good athlete. An athlete to me isn't just someone who straps on their jersey and plays a game, it is a person who is dedicated to a sport on and off the field, and someone who exemplifies the best qualities in their environment.

Playing a sport requires physical exertion as well as mental concentration. Imagine yourself on a court or a field with fans screaming words of encouragement and discouragement at the same time. You have to let the encouraging words keep you going and let the discouraging words through one ear and right out the other. As an athlete, you must be able to use your skills for the game and focus skills to play a game. In order to be successful in any sport, you must know the rules and the game of the sport to be a successful athlete. Also, when playing a sport, you cannot think you know everything because it is going to be something that you do not know so you have to listen to the coach and ask him or her questions.

Motivation is the number one driving force behind anything and everything an individual does each day. “Motivation is the desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform an assigned task. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior directed towards a goal.” (Honor, 2009). Motivation can determine the outcome of projects, goals, and can set limits on what an individual can obtain or what they believe they can obtain. Motivation often is the deciding factor on how successful a project in an organization is, and an individual’s needs and desires can both influence a person’s motivation greatly. Motivation can also determine how well an individual does in school, college, or university.

Motivation can come from two sources, from inside of you and from outside of you. It can come from your hopes and expectations. It is from your desire to do something or to be someone, but not everyone is highly

Motivation is a very strong tool we can use to get further in life and to achieve our dreams and goals. Setting goals for ourselves is something that I consider to be very important, I believe in always pushing myself further and further in life, not only physically but mentally as well. We all have different things or tools we can use to motivate us towards our end goals. In order for us to stay motivated we have to have a goal and be driven towards achieving that goal.

Motivation is crucial for an athlete in order to want to win. It is hard to want to win if you have no motivation. The main aspect of motivation in terms of the self-determination theory is intrinsic motivation. The self-determination theory can be defined as “a highly appropriate conceptual framework from which to study sport persistence and dropout” (Calvo, Cervelló, Jiménez, Iglesias, & Moreno Murcia, 2010). Intrinsic Motivation can be defined as “an athlete taking up playing a sport just for the enjoyment of playing a sport” (Pelletier, Tuson, Fortier, Vallerand, & Briére, 1995). It is important to realize that the self-determination theory affects an athlete’s motivation intrinsically (internally) because the self-determination theory uses factors like “autonomy” and “competence” to motivate an athlete to play better in their sport. Most athletes, now and in the past, find it easier to motivate themselves intrinsically if they enjoy the sport or have fun while playing the sport (Ryan & Deci, 1985).

According to the Business Dictionary the definition of motivation is, “internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.” So what keeps individuals motivated? Several different things keep individuals motivated. It really depends on the person and what is important to them. Some motivators are more money, career advancements, and more time off from work. There is also, recognition which is an achievement that has been received for completing a job or goal. Today, recognition is one of the top motivators amongst individuals at work. Recognition comes by word of mouth, written as a “Thank You, awards or given in monetary form as a raise or promotion just to name a few. It has been determined that being passionate about a job will keep you motivated and engaged. Individuals who are positive, optimistic, uplifting and happy usually have the drive