I’ve been thinking a lot about how important real commitment is to athletic success and how sports teams can measure commitment in athletes. Just about every so-called serious athlete is pretty committed to their sport, but are you REALLY committed? I could ask you to rate yourself on a 1-10 scale. I could also ask your coaches to rate your level of commitment. But I decided that the best way to see how committed athletes are is to see what athletes do.
It’s been both of our observations that really committed athletes don’t just do what most other athletes do. It reminded me of one of my favorite sayings (which I invented), “If you want to perform like everyone else, be like everyone else,” in other words, do what everyone else is doing.
But, if you’re a really committed athlete, you do what most other athletes don’t do. Here’s a list of the “devil is in the details” items that most young athletes don’t consistently do:
- Set outcome and process goals
- Have a detailed plan on how to achieve their goals
- Focus on the process more than results
- Know their strengths and weaknesses
- Focus on their weaknesses
- Watch their nutrition
- Go to sleep at a decent hour
- Continue to stay focused and work hard when conditioning or practice gets tiring, painful, boring, or monotonous
- Have a routine that they use before every practice and competitive performance to ensure consistent and total preparation
- Do recovery after practice
- Keep a journal or training log
- Control their tech use (yes, too much tech is bad!)
- Lead a consistent life
- Be a student of your sport
- Do mental imagery off-field at least three times a week
- Embrace adversity
- Stay positive and motivated when struggling
- Anything else that might impact your sports participation
And being a really committed athlete doesn’t mean you do these things because your coaches tell you to or because your team is doing it. Instead, you do it because you know it’s important to achieve your athletic goals. And you never forget just like you never forget to go to conditioning or on-field training. Why? Because it’s just what you do to be your best.
So, are you a really committed athlete? If so, you are on a very good road, so stay on it. If you’re not, it’s not too late. Here’s my challenge to you. Make a list of everything that might impact your sports efforts (you can use my list above, but I might have missed some items). Then, put a check next to every item that you are already doing consistently (occasionally doesn’t count). Then, put an X next to those that you aren’t doing consistently. From that X list, first, make a commitment to doing them (that’s where really committed athletes start). Then, find a time in your day in which you will do those really committed things (if you don’t, you’ll forget). Finally, because talk is cheap, do those really committed things every opportunity you have (that’s where really committed athletes finish).
Being really committed doesn’t mean that you are so focused on your athletic goals all of the time that you’re not allowed to have some fun by staying up late periodically, checking your social media, or having some junk food every once in a while. At the same time, you also realize that it may be fun to do those things, but it’s far more fun to play well and achieve your athletic goals.
I can’t guarantee that if you do the things that really committed athletes do, you’ll beat those who aren’t as committed; there are just too many other factors that influence our sport to make such a promise. But I can guarantee that you will become the best athlete you can be. That may be playing for your high school team, competing in college, or playing professionally or winning an Olympic medal. I can also say that, whatever level you reach in your sport, if you’re a really committed athlete, you will experience great enjoyment and satisfaction in your journey. You will have no regrets or have to ask yourself, “I wonder what could have been?” And you will learn some amazing life lessons and skills that you can then transfer into other aspects of your life where I am confident you will find great success. Because it’s really committed people who find success, happiness, and meaning in their lives. And that, my friends, is the ultimate goal for why you should play sports.
Want to make mental training a part of your overall training program? Take a look at my latest book, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals and my online mental training courses.
