Musings on motivation from Mike B

Motivation

I was reading around in Physiology of Fitness (3^rd edition), by Brian J. Sharkey, and came across these thoughts.  They’re apropos for many of us in skiing:

“Competitors and Performers

“Psychologist Nathaniel Ehrlich (1971) draws a distinction between competitors and performers in athletic competition.  Competitors evaluate their performances in athletic contests strictly on a relative, win-loss basis, giving little regard to the absolute level of performance.  Performers attach only secondary importance to winning, instead evaluating performances against an absolute scale, an ideal.

“The competitor subscribes to the Vince Lombardi school, which says, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  The performer would say, “It isn’t whether you win or lose, it’s how (and how well) you play the game.” Ehrlich draws an analogy between Maslow’s self-esteem and self-actualization levels of motivation; the competitor seeks esteem, whereas the performer seeks to realize his or her potential.  One would hope to find a more mature, self-actualizing approach to competition among adult athletes, in which each would seek his or her potential, with competition serving as a means to that end.  Performers seek good competition because it helps them achieve their potential.  Competitors fear good competition because it threatens their win-loss record, their self-esteem.

*                      *                      *

“Try becoming a performer by focusing on the quality of the experience, not the final outcome.  .  .  .  Set goals in terms of performance instead of wins, medals, or trophies.  You may find that the wins and trophies come as performance improves.  If not, you can still find satisfaction in [your sport], and you won’t feel regret when it’s over.”

Sharkey, page 250-252.

Being a ‘performer’ is a mindset that I adopted many years ago.  I’ll never be satisfied with my skiing, but not because I know that I’ll never ever win or place in a race – not unless no one else shows up (I enjoy that thought).  But that’s not why I’m dissatisfied with my skiing; I have my own standards of performance – am I improving my technique; am I skiing as fluidly as I can; am I staying in condition so that I can enjoy a good hard hill climb; am I focused on “the quality of my experiences” – these are the types of standards I have set for myself.  I honestly don’t need competition to help me achieve these goals, unless it is competition with myself and how I skied the last time I was out. 

Try it for yourself.  It just might work.