myMagazine/ April, 2013 9
Many high-level atheletes, when asked how they managed to get as skilled as they are, will respond with something along the lines of, "hard work and dedication". But what exactly does this mean? For many scientist who have studied the preformance of athletes, this means motivation. By definition, motivation is "The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way". What does this mean from an athletes standpoint? Essentially, this means that an athelete must set a goal, or multiple goals, and create and plan and schedule on how to achieve thes goals. However, there is a proven system for how to attain these goals, and the steps that must be followed.
Set A Goal: This means to choose where you would like to end up in the sport. Maybe it is to go professional, maybe it is to complete a marathon maybe it is something completely different. Whatever the goal, it is important that it is achievable, yet still challanging, as well as specific. This will cause the athlete to work harder to reach the objective, and ultimately improve on themselves during the process of striving for the goal.
Create a Plan: This means to figure out how you will reach said goal. Different athletes will have different time ranges and different difficulties, so plans will range quite vastly. Take into account what must be done in order to reach your goal, and then practice excersises that will allow for improvment on these thing. For example, a professional soccer player must have a great deal of endurance. this means that for someone trying to reach a professional level of soccer, they must improve their endurance. In turn, that individual should add things such as running and weight-lifting into their regime. They must then create a schedule, which dictates the amount of times these excersises will occur, how long they will occur for, and what changes are to be seen. Keep in mind, that these practices should be of increasing difficulty, so that you can constantly build on a skill or ability.
Find a Way to Recieve Feedback: This feedback could come from a trained coach another athlete, or even just sombody who will understand the correct and incorrect techniques. Once a form of feedback is found, the athlete can begin to train, constantly attempting to alter the things which are not being done correctly. Eventually, the individual should be excecuting the essential skills without any issues in form. At this point, he or she should work on the speed, strenth, and fluency which they are excecuting the skills at.
Create Deadlines: By creating deadlines for when you would like to achieve certain goals, you are making sure that you stay committed to final goal, by taking things one step at a time. It can be very easy for people to be intimidated and give up on their dreams, because they only look at the big picture, instead of taking things one step at a time. Slowly, you will move closer to the end goal.
Ensure the Schedule is Upheld: It is absolutely essential to maintain the schedule which you have set forth. Without this schedule, you will be unable to work on the skills which are needed. The key is to find the willpower to continue with your path, even if things get tough, and rely on the thought that the end product will be worth the pain.
Enjoy Success!: Once each of the previous steps have been completeed, you need to be proud of your accomplishments, and realize that through motivation, you have reachedyour ultimate goal!