Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / The Quest to Be the Best: Who Wants it More?

The Quest to Be the Best: Who Wants it More?

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Aug 22, 2018

No Comments

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Former boxing champion Mike Tyson

These days sport statisticians have mountains of data to go through when trying to predict sport outcomes.  There are countless ways to measure an athlete’s potential, from how fast he or she can run to how much weight he or she can lift.  In almost all of these examples the measurements are taken in practice conditions devoid of extraneous variables including playing conditions, weather, officiating, and perhaps most of all – an opponent.  Mike Tyson’s quote above makes a tremendous point as it applies to sport success — you can have all the “potential” in the world, but when the whistle blows success ultimately comes down to one simple question: Who wants it more?  When the first sign of adversity occurs, be it from the opponent scoring or an official missing a call, how will you respond?  Will you hoist the white flag, or come back even stronger?

Examining human motivation

Psychologists have identified two types of human motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic.  Intrinsic motivation is identified as engaging in a behavior because it is personally satisfying; in essence, the behavior itself is rewarding (i.e. solving a crossword puzzle).  On the other hand, extrinsic motivation occurs when we are motivated to do an activity in order to earn a reward or avoid punishment.  For example, millions of people go to work each day not because they love their job, but because they receive a reward in the form of a paycheck.

Applying motivation theories to sports, you see both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as forces that guide behavior.  In some instances athletes work hard because they simply love playing the sport (intrinsic motivation), while in other cases athletes are motivated to play hard because they want to please their parents (extrinsic motivation).  The question then becomes what type of effort leads to the best future results – intrinsic or extrinsic?  While this might be debated, I have personally found that on average athletes who are intrinsically motivated tend to exhibit greater goal adherence, a more positive attitude, and stronger human resiliency.  Because they love the activity and don’t view it as an endeavor they have to do in order to receive praise, attention, or money, they develop a passion and purpose of their own that often propels them to go further than the competition.

A case for both types of motivation

Extrinsic motivation may be necessary to help individuals in specific situations, including:

  • To generate interest in something an individual has no interest in doing.
  • To acquire new skills.
  • For feedback and future reinforcement of an activity.

Very often leaders need to use rewards to motivate people, especially when there is no evidence of natural (intrinsic) motivation.  Interestingly, when it comes to intrinsic motivation some experts argue that it is impossible to teach or groom; meaning a person’s internal motivation is unique and simply part of his or her hard-wiring.  In fact, very often in life we see individual’s do amazing things, from sport accomplishments to designing houses to creating artwork, and when asked about the challenges along they way they respond by saying how much they loved the entire process, and didn’t consider it “work.”  Herein we see what intrinsic motivation truly looks like — where others see “work,” they see exciting life opportunities that they feel lucky to have.

So who responds best to a “punch in the mouth?”

From my experience athletes who love competition and playing their sport, even when they are not being watched, evaluated, or judged in any way, are likely the ones who will best endure stress, frustration, failure, and adversity.  The problem, however, is that it isn’t always easy developing intrinsic motivation within an athlete — though there may be ways to increase the chances some.  For example, in cases when coaches introduce a sport to a kid a light bulb goes off, and the kid serendipitously discovers she loves playing the sport.  Another example might be a coach who successfully ties sport to a bigger value a kid might have, and then intrinsic motivation begins to grow from there.  Here a coach might connect the idea of hard work and perseverance to being an important life skill and not limited to sports, and the athlete becomes more motivated knowing the sport experience is simply a primer for bigger future life challenges.

Going back to the Mike Tyson quote at the beginning of this article I would offer that when Tyson was in his prime it likely wouldn’t have mattered the type of motivation the opponent had, but if I had to pick one over the other I would guess the intrinsically-motivated boxer might try to hang in a little longer than the guy guaranteed a paycheck (extrinsic) and no reason to fight beyond the first punch!

Final thoughts

Maybe the best thing about sport competition is that very often success comes down to not the better athlete “on paper,” but instead the one who simply wants it more.  Who will be the athlete that consistently arrives early to practice and is the last one to leave?  Who is willing to get up before the sun rises to get their run in before school?  Who will successfully handle adversity, like in the case where the official clearly makes a bad call?  These are all examples of what it takes to be the best, and common characteristics you find in champions.

drstankovich.com

adversity, Coaching, extrinsic, intrinsic, motivation, psychology, sport, Stress, success

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • March 22, 2023 Nature or Nurture? Exploring the Psychology of Sport Success
  • March 20, 2023 Morning Sports Practice Before School is Becoming the Norm, but is this Healthy for Kids?
  • March 14, 2023 Understanding Intelligence: Putting Knowledge into ACTION!
  • March 13, 2023 3 Important Tips for Today’s Multi-Sport, Youth Sport Athlete
  • February 26, 2023 The Most Important Sports “Ability” Might Surprise You

PREVIOUS POST

Coaches Need to Emphasize Realistic Future Career Paths for Student Athletes

NEXT POST

Understanding Mental Toughness: Arrogance or Confidence?

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Coach , Coaching , Confidence , Evaluating Talent , Habit Change , health psychology , Leadership , Mental Toughness , Performance Enhancement , Sport Psychology , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized

Tags

adversity, Coaching, extrinsic, intrinsic, motivation, psychology, sport, Stress, success

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Nature or Nurture? Exploring the Psychology of Sport Success
  • Morning Sports Practice Before School is Becoming the Norm, but is this Healthy for Kids?
  • Understanding Intelligence: Putting Knowledge into ACTION!
  • 3 Important Tips for Today's Multi-Sport, Youth Sport Athlete
  • The Most Important Sports "Ability" Might Surprise You
  • The Psychology Behind Breaking Bad Habits
  • What has Happened to Free Play and Recreational Sports for Kids?
  • The Importance of Efficiency Applied to Success & Productivity
  • The Most Important Sports "Ability" Might Surprise You
  • Accident Prone & Forgetful? Poor Stress Coping May be the Reason
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2023 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓