How Olympians Stay Motivated

Posted by MarchFifteen & filed under Reflection.

With the 2014 Olympics having reached a close, we often praise the physical training put into competing in such an event.  But beyond that, how much do we really think about what goes into the performance of the Olympians?  It’s easy to forget that the hard work of the athletes stretches far beyond physical efforts.  The tactics Olympians use to stay motivated and dedicated to their sport for the four years leading up to the big event, is something that we could all learn from and apply to various aspects of our own lives.  A recent online article published by The Atlantic, highlights seven ways athletes stay motivated when training for the Olympics.  Below we have included an excerpt from the article, along with a link to the original source.  We hope you enjoy the article as much as we did!

Denise

How Olympians Stay Motivated

by Olga Khazan

We can’t all be Olympic athletes. (In fact some of us, including your humble narrator, should not be allowed anywhere near ice or blades.) But we all face times when we really don’t want to do something that we, nonetheless, really have to do. Drawing from interviews with top athletes and their coaches, along with psychological studies of athletes, here are seven ways Olympians stay motivated through the training slog.

1.       Talk yourself through the stress

2.      Love—or at least accept—the grind

3.      Be optimistic

4.       Anticipate things before they occur

5.      Stick with a coach who’s more like South, not North, Korea

6.      Try mindfulness

7.      Think about your next big event

Read the article in its entirety at: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/how-olympians-stay-motivated/283643/

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