I’m pretty big on themes in life, and sit up and take notice when I see them. What are the topics that seem to bubble up in conversation frequently? That you read about in SI? Or see on SportsCenter? The big theme over the past couple weeks for me has been that of culture, identity, and mission, and how they tie into motivation.
In the past few days I have heard some variation of this theme from a collegiate strength and conditioning coach, a collegiate soccer coach, various sports parents, a high school baseball team, an adult horseback rider, and a 6th grade basketball player. All of these different people are coming from a different place, of course, but the similtarities are there – they are struggling due to a lack of overall guiding prinicple. In the sport psychology world, they are lacking a clearly defined mission statement.
Those without a clearly defined mission are more likely to:
– have trouble getting the most our of their athletes
– have a hard time staying fully motivated
– rest on their past achievements
– suffer communication breakdowns
– do not fully commit in training or competition
– panic when the pressure is on
Typically, problems with the mental game come from a series of small moments snowballing into something bigger. Having a clearly defined mission statement is one sport psychology technique that can help with focus, motivation, and keeping a positive mindset when things aren’t going so well. The mission statement is meant to take a look at the big picture – the sum of all the parts: past history, skillset, work rate, goals, etc. Whereas most of the loss of focus, motivation and confidence comes from ballooning a mistake to be way bigger than it actually is in real life.
It is essential that each organization has a positive culture for it’s members.
It is essential that each team within that organization has a specific mission statment that fits within the over-arching organization’s mission.
It is essential that each athlete has a mission statement that fulfills not only themselves, but the mission of the team and organization.
So, what is your mission? Want help putting it together? Contact SPINw today to see how we can help with focus, confidence, motivation, and a positive overall mental game.
