Batter strikes out again.
Even the best athletes at the top of their game have times when their motivation is low. When it comes to motivation, it’s natural for everyone to go through periods of ebb and flow. There will be times when you feel like your motivation is unstoppable and that you have endless drive and energy for training and competition. Then there will be times when you have to force yourself out the door to get to practice and feel like you want to quit your sport altogether.
This blog post is an excerpt from my eBook Inspired: Monthly Motivation for Athletes. It’s a free eBook available to folks who join my mailing list. This excerpt is just one small example of the incredible content available to help you proactively work on your motivation. Each month provides a quote, an inspirational story, a motivational mental skills tool, and an assessment page to reflect and solidify what you learned about your own personal motivational journey over that month.
I hope you enjoy this tip and be sure to get on my email list if you want the whole book!
Breaking Through a Plateau
At some point during your athletic career, chances are you will hit a plateau. You’re working hard and motivated to improve, but feel like you’re moving nowhere. How you deal with this situation will either send you down the road to retirement or bring your athletic performance to the next level. Hitting a plateau can be cancerous to your motivation. It can make you start to question your confidence and doubt your ability. It’s time to get your mojo back.
Make the decision to turn it around
If you don’t play your cards right, your plateau can turn into a slump. Don’t let your plateau snowball out of control. Make the decision today to turn it around. That doesn’t mean that everything will magically get better, or that you’ll be back to your old self in a few days, but it does mean that you are committing to change you attitude and take back control.
Diagnosis: Is it physical or mental?
It’s important to rule out whether your plateau could be related to something physical versus something mental. Are you fighting off a virus? Has there been a change in the weather or your level of intensity? Are you utilizing optimal nutrition and hydration for athletic performance? Are you playing with an overuse injury? Peak performance is a combination of optimal body and mind. Make sure that both are working to their potential.
Top 25
What would it take to be at the top of your game? Use the next page to list 25 things that you need to do in order to be at the top of your game. You may not need to do them all, but you have to be willing to do them all if you truly want to bust through this plateau. Pick one item off the list and set a goal with a timeline for when you will achieve that goal. Then pick another item. As you accomplish things off of your list, use that momentum to keep moving you forward. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself on the upward swing.
If you like this post and want to work on your own motivation, be sure to sign up for my email list and get your free copy of my eBook Inspired (just scroll to the top of this post and look to the right or scroll to the bottom of the post – enter your email and you’ll instantly get the book)!