Motivation to Persist and Achieve in Sports - Coursework Example

Motivation to Persist and Achieve in Sports Motivation to Persist and Achieve in Sports Motivation forms a foundation for all sports around the world. The determination and desire to improve in sports performances is essential for improvement in focus, emotions, intensity, and confidence, of an athlete (Nevid, 2013). For an individual to become the best in any sports activity, motivation is crucial as it helps him or her to do the necessary to maximize his or her ability for better performances. As a result, the athlete can implement and attain his or her planned goals. In addition, motivation is important in sports as it conditions the psychic state of an athlete, thus problems associated with the performance are avoided. These problems might be because of lack of motivation or overpressure to perform from the instructor. Moreover, motivation helps an athlete to work effortlessly in the face of challenges such as pain and boredom. Therefore, motivation has an impact on all aspects that influences the performance of any athlete. These aspects are like mental preparation, physical conditioning, tactical training, and technical training (Nevid, 2013). In addition, motivation has an impact on an individual’s general lifestyle like work, school, relationships, sleep, and diet. This article attempts to discuss how motivation affects the performance of an athlete. In simple terms, the ability of a person to initiate a task and persist at it, with the aim of achieving a goal, is what we call motivation. For better performance in any sport, an individual must have that desire to develop as a sports participant, and be willing to maintain all positive efforts until the planned goals and objectives are implemented. In sports, motivation is imperative, as it is the only aspect that can be controlled by the participant during any performance. Various aspects like ability, competition difficulties, and motivation influence performance. An individual is born with his or her ability. Thus, it is impossible to change it and cannot be controlled. Difficulties in the competition may be because of the opponent’s ability or external factors like weather, away games, and the crowd. This also is out of control of an individual. Motivation, on the other hand, influences performance and can be controlled. The level of success achieved by an athlete is directly influenced by motivation. An individual who is highly motivated to improve his or her performances put more effort and time necessary for performance improvement. At the beginning of any competition, motivation affects how an athlete will perform. For example, if the competition involves opponents of equal capabilities, motivation will determine the results more than the ability. Here, athletes who do not give up, perform at their best and work hard attain the best outcomes. Therefore, the fact that an individual can be active or passive by nature, indifferent or committed is because of influences of his or her dispositions in response to various situational or environmental factors. Thus, different individuals control motivational processes differently. In addition, different individuals have different abilities to efficiently and consciously perform in specific situations (Walczak & Tomczak, 2012). Motivation is a process that has two dimensions. First, external factors influence on perception of a particular situation, and second, use of one’s resources in a subjectively perceived situation. People engage in sports for various extensive reasons like goal achievement, pleasure seeking, health improvement, social contacts, fun, and for good fitness maintenance (Donnelly, 2013). Therefore, according to some researchers, multidimensional approaches should be used to determine peoples’ participation in various physical activities. These approaches should take into consideration sources of sports motivation that covers extrinsic, intrinsic, and motivation. In addition, goal orientation and achievement motivation should be involved in these approaches. Sports psychologists suggest that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are very essential in sports as they improve the performance of athletes. Intrinsic motivation in sports includes passion for acting, demonstration of one skill, excitement, and possibility of skills improvement. In addition, intrinsic motivations play a vital role in influencing the emotions of an athlete directly, therefore, are useful in sports performance improvement. Motivation that are extrinsic include awards, trophies, benefits that are nonmaterial like social standing and prestige. According to (Vallerand, 2004), people who engage in sports activities tend to be more intrinsically motivated than extrinsically motivated. However, external aspects of motivation enhance intrinsic motivation. The difference between these types of motivations can be visible in between recreational and competitive sports. The behavior of an athlete is largely determined by the motivation, situational factors, and subjective characteristics. These factors condition the athletes, effectiveness, speed of learning, and perseverance. Thus, numerous factors determine the outcome of a sports activity. Various psychosocial studies on sports motivation suggest various theories that are useful in sports. These are goal orientation theory and self-determination theory. The goal orientation theory involves ego and task motivation while self-determination theory involves extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and finally the motivation. According to Walczak (2012), by use of self-evaluation techniques, a task motivated athletes improve their abilities through learning or through motor skills development, and this in turn enhances the perception and knowledge of the athlete’s effectiveness and competence. An individual’s perseverance and effort determine the perceived success because he or she concentrates on the development of self. Such people choose high standards tasks and ensure that efforts of high level are achieved. In addition, regardless of the perception an individual has on the level of competence, him or her displays a level of perseverance that is high. Ego oriented athlete aims at winning, and their relative competencies determine the perception of their success through performances of less effort or manifestation of high-quality capabilities. Therefore, such individuals will only achieve desired outcome only with the perceived level of competences that are high (Vallerand, 2004). Thus, task and ego oriented motivation influences the performance of an athlete. Self-determination theory discusses intrinsic motivation as the natural way in which humans tend to learn and be creative. Extrinsic motivation is described as the process by which an individual psychologically undertakes an activity without completion of the internalization process. Taylor (2009) suggests that the internalization involves self-regulation and assimilation of social regulations and rules. Internalization degree determines the character and course of the motivation process. In extrinsic motivation, activities arenbased on factors that are external like punishment, material rewards, and failure avoidance (Vallerand, 2004). When an activity lacks internalization, justification, and determination, it is said to be motivated. This is a state of uncertainty and suspension about the desire of how to act in a particular situation. Thus, it influences performance in a negative way, as it can be an indication of giving up on a specific sports activity. Motivation influences an outcome of a sports activity. The following are strategies that can be applied to optimize motivation in sports for better performances. Focusing on long term goals For better results, the athlete should put effort and sacrifice most of his or her time into the sports activity involved. At times, motivation might be lost due to competitions and trainings becoming painful, tiring, and tedious (Taylor, 2009). In such situations, it is the responsibility of an athlete to focus on long term goals. Generations of feelings of pride and inspiration experienced after a desired outcome should be encouraged. Training partner Having someone to push you to work hard is critical. Training partners can be parents, personal trainer, or an instructor. According to Nevid, (2013), this person should have the same goals as those of the athletes and should possess the same level of ability as that of the participant. This person helps in accomplishment of goals. Competitors It is important to focus on one’s greatest competitor. One can opt to put a photo or the name of this competitor on place where he or she can view him on a daily basis. This will keep on reminding the athlete that the only way to overcome him or her is by working hard, thus increasing motivation. Motivational cues Positive emotions that associate with the athletes’ achievement of goals and efforts should be generated. The athletes can use inspirational pictures and quotes to keep the positive feelings. Goal setting Establishment of valuable and clear goals and focus on how to implement them is paramount. Putting more efforts and achieving these goals is very motivating and rewarding (Donnelly, 2013). After realizing that one’s hard work leads to success, this leads to more motivation to achieve and realize more goals. Additionally, a person should ensure that each goal is accomplished on a daily basis. Moreover, motivation should be from the heart. The desire to participate in a sports activity should be enormous. In conclusion, the zeal to improve in sports performances is essential for improvement in an athlete. For an individual to become the best in any sports activity, motivation is crucial as it helps him or her to do the necessary to maximize his or her ability for better performances. As a result, the athlete can implement and attain his or her planned goals. Goal oriented theories and self-determination theories have significant explanations of how motivation influences behaviour of an athlete. Strategies like focusing on long-term goals, goal setting, motivational cues, and training partner, have a significant role in optimization of motivation in sports. References Donnelly, P. (2013). Sport Participation: Sport Policy in Canada. Canada: University of Ottawa Press. Nevid, J. (2013). Psychology: Concepts and applications. Belmont, CA: Wad worth. http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=0KboCxDWFKwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=psychology++Concepts+and+applications&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dwE-VKmmE9DoaJCHgcgP&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=psychology%20%20Concepts%20and%20applications&f=false Taylor, J. (2009). Sports: What Motivates Athletes? The Power of Prime. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/200910/sports-whatmotivates-athletes Vallerand, R. J. (2004). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in Sport. Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, 2, 427-435. Walczak, M. & Tomczak, M. (2012). A Multi-faceted Assessment of Sports Motivation in Relation to Training Effectiveness in Progressive Recreational Skiers. Studies in Physical Culture and Tourism, 19(3), 146-153. Read More