Factors that Contribute to Success in Sports - Literature review Example

Success in Sport is About Attitude Author’s Name Class Name Professor’s Name School City and State Date Success in Sport is About Attitude Introduction Attitude plays a significant role for one to succeed in sports. One does not need to be an Olympic champion or a professional athlete to become successful in athletics. What successful sportspersons have in common is that they are committed to becoming the best within a scope of limitations in their lives. One has to set realistic and high goals as well as play and train hard. People become successful in sports because they are committed to enjoy their sports and to pursue their goals. Exercise alone does not guarantee success in sports. One has to cultivate a winning attitude to perform highly in sports. More also it takes self-confidence to commit oneself to regular exercise, which consequently help to build self-confidence. Self-confidence is also vital in building prime sports attitude en route for competition, which means keeping one's sport in perspective. For a person to play his best and have fun, he requires to keep his participation is sports in a healthy place in his heart. Every sports aspect revolves around attitude. This paper analyzes attitude and other factors that contribute to success in team or individual sports. Factors that Contribute to Success in Sports Attitude Attitude can be defined as a settled manner of thinking or emotion about something or someone, usually one that is mirrored in an individual’s behavior. Anything that can reveal much about a sportsperson in a short time can break or make the outcome of a competitive event or a game and can get to viral status within seconds. We all have attitude whether it is bad, indifferent, or good. Attitude is a major factor that contribute to success in sports whether in groups or as individuals. However, it is important to note that positive attitude towards success should not be a matter of life and death. Sport is part of life but not life itself. Sport is about having fun, exercising, and competing and winning. One must like a particular sport, play, and take part in it before thinking of winning. The more one enjoys a sport he or she like, the more one plays better and the more he is likely to achieve the set goals. Developing a positive attitude is a process that involves several stages. First, one has to listen carefully to his feelings and identify his emotions. The second step is to analyze your actions by classifying your deeds and your thoughts. Next, one should control his thoughts to be able to limit negative thoughts. The fourth step is letting the public know what you are trying to do. Lastly, develop skills for the changes. Attitude towards Bad and Good Experiences of Sports Achievements in sport require one to accept and recognize the bad and good experiences in sport. According to Taylor (2008), in sports history only a limited number of athletes have had near perfect or perfect seasons. The majority of the best athletes have their rises and falls in the industry and their lives. Having these difficulties is common but what matters is not how big these difficulties are but how you can respond to them. During the bad experiences, one may easily get angry, depressed, and frustrated. It is possible to feel frustrated one how you play and have a feeling of helplessness to change. An individual focused on becoming successful must know how to get back in the right senses since none of these downfalls will help in achieving the set goals. One must have an attitude of understanding that everything that happens is expected, natural, and part of sports. With this attitude, one can withstand the pressure as well as stay positive and motivated. Attitude toward Fun and Love Losing sight why one competes in sports is very is easy. There is the competition, attention, rankings, and awards. If one is focused on sport’s external benefit, he is likely to lose sight of the important internal reasons of training and competing. Additionally, one may not neither play well nor have fun. It is crucial to keep in mind what sports entails. Participating in sports is about two things. The first thing revolves around love: love for the sport, oneself, and others. If one is bale to love the sport he is taking part in, he is likely to become successful in it. The second thing is fun. It means working hard, getting better, intensifying the competition, and enjoying the entire process (Goodes 2015). Winning or losing should be fun to a sportsperson. Attitude toward Losing or Winning The attitude of individuals toward losing or winning determines their ability to play their best consistently and will interfere or promote their achieving of goals. Although the aim of every player is to win, one should never judge himself as successful based on the results of the game. At times, we may play well but we lose because the other team was better prepared or because some other factors did not favor us. No one can control whether he loses or wins. However, individuals or teams can control their attitudes, how well they play, and the efforts put in the game. Winning can be defined as having fun, playing to the best of one’s ability, as well as giving one’s best effort (Liston 2011). In as much as success builds our confidence and reinforces our belief that we can meet the competition challenges and perform well there are problems associated with it. Too much success reduces both teams and individuals motivation. More also one a chance of identifying his weaknesses thus one lacks the need to improve. On the other hand losing provides us with information regarding our progress and shows where we need to improve. Personality Traits According to Allen & Larbode (2014), personality traits play a key role in predicting some performance markers the context of competitiveness such as academia and work. Organized sports have shown another a form of competitive context in which personality traits coincide with greater success levels. For example, athletes competing internationally or nationally have reported lower levels of neuroticism and higher levels of conscientiousness than those competing in regional or club competitions. Additionally, athletes selected to participate in the Paralympic Games show lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of tough-mindedness than those not selected for the Paralympic Games. Longitudinal studies have also revealed that athletes in the adolescent stage who have particular personality traits have higher chances of succeeding in professional sport. More also, adult athletes with low neuroticism levels and high conscientiousness levels are successful (Müller & Abernethy 2012). Self-Confidence According to College Sports Scholarships (n.d), when psychologists carry out studies on exercise adherence, they frequently talk about self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a type of self-confidence that refers to people’s beliefs about what they can achieve. Originally, the terms referred to an individual’s sense of confidence in a particular realm. Studies have revealed that people who have a strong belief on sticking to an exercise program exert great efforts to accomplish these goals. These people persist no matter the difficulties that arise. Similarly, people who hold a belief that they will normally fail have high chances of failing. The truth and ability lie with an individual. Whether one believes he will succeed or fail, he is right. Motivation Motivation is an important factor that contributes to the success of a team or an individual in sports. Successful sportspersons must keep in mind the benefits and rewards that they expect to enjoy through their participation in sports. However, they must remain motivated and persist through difficult times and difficult tasks even when these benefits and rewards are not forthcoming as soon as anticipated. Additionally, a sportsperson should realize that the benefits of sporting come because of their participation and not the outcome. A motivated individual or team always remains focused whether he loses or wins. Successful people heavily rely on setting and achieving their goals. The little targets that they achieve on a daily basis provide motivation and focus. Setting and achieving small daily goals have a cumulative effect that lead to success at high levels (Liston 2011). Skills There are three types of skills involved in sports. The first set of skills is basic skills, which comprises of people skills, goals and commitment, motivational skills, and skills to manage attitude. The second skills are preparatory skills, which involves self-talk and mental imagery. Self-talk involves a team talking to one another as best friends, having a positive talk about performance, and using self-talk as a way of regulating behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in a competition. When it comes to mental imagery sportspersons must prepare for competition by winning the game in their minds. They should imagine themselves performing well in the competition and work towards the best performance. More also they team members or individuals should create mental images that are realistic, detailed, and specific (Lesyk 1998). The third set of skills is performance skills, which are concentration, managing anxiety, and managing emotions. Sportsperson must pay attention to each sports situation or game. It is important to learn to keep resist distractions and maintain focus regardless of whether the distractions come from within themselves or from the environment. More also they must be able to maintain the notion of here-and-now regardless of the past or expected future events. Sports involve the building of our personal skills as well as learning other skills from people around us. Individuals participating in sports must possess effective skills that they apply to deal with difficult opponents, conflict, and other persons when they are oppositional or negative about their undertakings (Lesyk 1998). To become successful sportspersons must realize they belong to a larger system that comprises of their friends, coaches, families, teammates, other friends. Muller and Abernethy (2012) different skills are relevant for skills for different sports. For example players in table tennis, baseball, badminton, cricket, and squash among others must have striking skills. Sportspersons must communicate their thoughts, needs, and feelings appropriately to these persons and ensure that they listen to them carefully. Conclusion Positive attitude in sports plays an important role in achieving success. One may meet all the other expectations of becoming successful in sports but with a negative attitude, success becomes a mirage. One does not need to an Olympic champion or a professional athlete to become successful in athletics. This paper has analyzed the stages of developing a positive attitude. More also, we have learned success is a result of many other factors such as skills, personal traits, motivation, and self-confidence. References Allen, M. S., & Laborde, S2014, The role of personality in sport and physical activity,Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(6), 460-465. College Sports Scholarships, n.d, Self-confidence, and attitude are vital if you want to succeed in your sport, College Sports Scholarships, Viewed at http://www.collegesportsscholarships.com/sport-attitude-self-confidence.htm Goodes, J 2015, The Pivotal Role of Attitude in Youth Sports Performance, Breaking Muscle Manifesto, viewed at http://breakingmuscle.com/family-kids/the-pivotal-role-of-attitude-in-youth-sports-performance Lesyk, JJ 1998, The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes, Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, viewed at https://www.sportpsych.org/nine-mental-skills-overview Liston, K. (2011). Sport and leisure. The Sociological Review, 59(s1), 160-180. Müller, S., & Abernethy, B 2012, Expert anticipatory skill in striking sports: A review and a model, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 83(2), 175-187 Taylor, J 2008, Sports: The Winning Attitude, Dr. Jim Taylor, viewed at http://www.drjimtaylor.com/3.0/sports-foundation-of-prime-sport/ Read More