Defining Success
Success. The one constant that all athletes are after. Ironically, even though it is constant, it is never quite the same for each athlete. Not only are there different sports, but there are different positions within many sports and different focuses for various athletes. The one aspect of success that does have a tendency to stay the same is that it is often related to some outcome.
Sports are rarely lacking in their ability to add math into the equation (no pun intended). There are so many statistics that help athletes, coaches, and fans analyze what is happening. Too often, this is what is relied upon to determine whether an athlete (or team) is successful.
Whenever I ask an athlete what success is for them, it’s one of two things: a specific outcome (a win, a hit, a PR, etc.) or “doing my best.” Both are good in theory, but theory doesn’t translate well to the field or court. Let me explain…
Outcomes are uncontrollable. There are too many variables that can impact whether your desired outcome occurs or not. These include: weather, officials, time of day, atmosphere, equipment, field conditions, how teammates play, and how competitors perform, just to name a few. You may have done a lot of things right, but still not gotten the outcome you were after. Other times, you may actually make a lot of mistakes and play a subpar match, but come out on top.
“Doing my best” sounds great, but is incredibly hard to measure. How do you know you’ve gotten there? Won’t you analyze your performance afterwards (sometimes even during!) and point out the spots where you could have improved? And honestly, I’ve never met an athlete that shows up to perform and thinks…I’d really like to have just an ok day today…
Instead of these unhelpful versions of success, use this question to help you generate your own custom (and effective) definition of success:
What do I need to do, that’s in my control, to put myself in the best position possible to get [insert outcome]?
This allows you to focus on the specific controllable actions that need to be done and will significantly increase the likelihood of having your favored outcome. It also means you can measure it. If your sport has natural break points (quarters, sets, halftimes, etc.), use those to revisit this question to see if you need to make any adjustment to your definition.
Start today by using that question to define success for training and competition. See how much this success breeds you more success.
Interested in working directly with Dr. Lindsey? Want to get tailored strategies to improve your mental game? Connect with us today!