THE FIRE INSIDE

Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in
life to find it and keep it lit. –Mary Lou Retton
Motivation
 We already know that motivation means to move
 Athletes can move in one of two ways
 Toward seeking pleasure (rewards)
 Toward avoiding pain (punishment)
 In other words motivation can be the desire to succeed
or the fear of failure
 Which one do you respond to best?
 Coaching standpoint? Coaches can motivate through
rewarding appropriate technique or punishing poor
technique.
Pro’s and Con’s
 An athlete’s success is said to depend on 4 factors
 Physical ability
 Physical training
 Mental training
 Desire or drive
 The desire to succeed must be stronger than the
fear of failure
Motivation
 Different athletes find different ways to motivate themselves
 Muhammad Ali- When he was little Ali spent a summer working at
a grocery store to earn money for a much desired bicycle. A week
after he purchased his bike it was stolen. He never found that bike
but every time he stepped into the ring he looks across the ring and
says to himself, “That’s the guy who stole my bike!”
 Roger Clemens- Red Sox traded him because they thought his best
years were behind him and he used their doubt to fuel his play.
 Peggy Fleming (figure skating)- She always attributed her success
to the sheer love of the sport. There was nothing she would rather
do than be on the ice.
The Fire Inside
 What we associate with pleasure we pursue
 What we associate with pain we avoid
 Youth sports- did you gain pleasure or pain from
experience?
The Fire Inside
 Motivation gets you moving in a direction
 Being on a mission provides the emotion
 Does a fire burn inside of you?
 Do you have a mission?
 What is it?
 What motivates you?
 If it is fear of failure let that emotion go and replace
with a prideful desire to achieve.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLKxdTmk-zc
The Four D’s
 Motivation gets you going. Discipline keeps you
going. –Jim Ryan

 The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline. –

Bum Phillips
Pressure to Succeed
 Several years ago, a Phoenix area school district
conducted a study. The results were sad but not
alarming:
 A sports medicine physician with the U.S. Olympic
Committee asked young athletes this question: If a
drug existed that would help you win an Olympic gold
medal, but using it would take five years off your life,
would you take it?
 How would you answer?
Results
 More than half answered yes to the question.
The Four D’s
 Learning how to use one’s mind can be as potent as
any performance-enhancing drug.
 Placebo effect- People are given a simple sugar pill and
told it is a new medicine that can cure whatever it is they
are ailing from. People report drastic improvements! Why?
The power of the mind
 Desire
 Dedication
 Determination
 Discipline
Desire
 “Want” power is as important as will power when it
comes to accomplishing your goals.
 What is your wish?
 What do you long for?
 What is your dream?
 How badly do you want it?
Dedication
 Turning desire into action
 Requires a lasting commitment
 Lou Holtz said, “If you don’t make a TOTAL
commitment to whatever you are doing, then you
start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts
leaking.”
 Have you made a TOTAL commitment? Or do you
bail out early?
Determination
 Everyone wants to be successful
 Sometimes in life the most important thing you can
do is outlast everyone else who quits
Discipline
 Doing what you have to when you need to do it
whether you want to or not
 Self-discipline is the only kind that lasts
 It is action oriented
 It doesn’t procrastinate
 It doesn’t make excuses
 The first step is setting the goal but the key is
deciding how you will go about achieving it and
STAYING with the plan. The key is discipline.