When I was studying strength and conditioning in college, our strength coach use to put up a word or statement before every session to motivate the athletes or make them think. This quote was on the board before one of the sessions. The meaning of it should be pretty obvious, but basically, many people feel that everything is “owed” to them. They think they don’t need to work hard to earn their results, whatever those may be. These people are, essentially, worthless and mentally weak. They don’t realize the necessity of hard work. They give up as soon as things don’t go their way. You can spot these athletes easily. They pout when they’re not starting. They quit when their team is down. Don’t be that athlete! Realize that will have to earn everything. That nothing is promised or will be given to you. The sooner you realize this, the better off you will be. Along those same lines, Lee Taft recently wrote a similar post at his blog, which you can read here.
Great Quote! And SOOOOOOO True.
It’s sad how many athletes out there are such wimps when it comes to being sportsman-like. I think helping athletes develop mentally into being more humble is a big part of our job. The sports coach is there to get them to win big games. Our job is to develop them into better people (both physically and mentally).
Absolutely, 100% agree, Nick. I really think the emphasis on making them better people is so underrated. Far too many people go around expecting everything to be given to them. Obviously yes, we deal in the training realm, but the bottom line is that we are life coaches to some extent as well.