You might be wondering what 3 questions could make a difference in your sports performance. These questions make a difference because they tie into how much ownership you have over your sports journey, which ties directly into your ability to choose how you respond to the situations you find yourself in. The ability to choose how you respond is one of the only things you have full control over, and when you find the ability to see the freedom in this, you set yourself up to reach new levels in your performance.
When answering these questions I want you to think about all facets of your performance. Anything that could influence how you do in games or competition. To help think of three umbrellas, your mental, physical and emotional aspects of your performance.
Question #1: Do you take full responsibility for everything that happens within your performance?
Remember when you are asking yourself this question, to make sure you do so for everything single element of your performance. If you have really negative self talk, but don't do anything to help make it better, you are not taking full ownership of your performance. If you don't have the confidence you feel you need to help you perform but you aren't doing what you need to do to help with this, you are not taking full ownership of your performance.
I have a client who is a lacrosse player and knows he is his most confident and at his best when he has worked on his footwork and speed. When he feels he has the first step needed to get by his opponents. However, he often does not train his speed. He prefers lifting weights and neglects this part of his training. He knows in order to do it, he needs to see a coach to help put him through the workouts and hold him accountable. Knowing this he still doesn't find a coach most of the time, not until the last minute heading into a training camp. By not doing this he has at times set himself up to not make teams or be his very best, and instead focuses on things he can't control and puts ownership of his journey onto those things, like coaches decisions.
Question #2: Do you put in full effort and hold yourself accountable to putting in full effort
Again remember this is for all aspects, and will look different depending on what you are doing. If you are meditating, full effort looks different than doing sprints. Do you also put in full effort to do all the things you need to do? For many clients I have worked with, putting in effort in some parts of the equation is easy, but they don't do it for everything, this is then hurting their performance by not fully taking ownership and therefore being able to choose how to respond versus react in situations.
Question #3: Do you blame others
If you can't answer yes to the first two questions then there is a good chance you do blame others at times. There are a lot of things you can't control. You deal with coaches, governing bodies and sport organizations. There is a lot of structure and systems in place, that can often make it feel like you don't have control or the ability to make a choice. When this happens you can slowly shift ownership to others, and fail to see that no matter what you face you always have the freedom to choose how you respond, and no one can ever take that away. When you fully take ownership of your sports performance, you find the freedom to choose how you respond.
Choose your own way
Taking full ownership over your sports performance and journey is a major factor in how well you will perform, or how much energy you will waste towards things you have no control over. Learn the power of finding the ability to always choose how you respond. Sometimes you need help on your journey, and if you find yourself in a place where you might need a coach to help you reach that next level, contact me to find out how I can help.
To your success,
Kate
About: Kate Allgood is trained in the field of applied sport psychology. She holds two Masters degrees in psychology where she graduated with distinction. She has spent the past 14 years working one on one with high school, college, Olympic, and professional athletes to help them with their mindset, mental performance and mental skills training. Kate has also been a consultant for professional teams, including the Anaheim Ducks primary minor league affiliate the San Diego Gulls, to help the team and players develop their mental game. It is important to note that while Kate has graduate school training in applied sport psychology and general psychology, she does not diagnose or treat clinical disorders, and is not a licensed psychologist.
**The information provided is not to dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique, either directly or indirectly, as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems, without the advice of a physician. The information provided is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for high performance. If you know or suspect you have a health problem, it is recommended you seek your physician's advice.