Belief is incredibly important to athletes, and directly impacts the likelihood of success athletes experience while competing. Whether it’s the placebo effect at play with an unorthodox “treatment,” or simply the belief in oneself to achieve great things while competing, we know that belief can make — or break — an athlete’s chances for success.
We believe what we’re told
A related concept to belief are self-fulfilling prophecies, or predictions that essentially cause themselves to become true. For example, if a coach tells an athlete “you have great potential” even if the athlete has very little potential, the athlete’s new belief that he has potential as offered by the coach may, in fact, lead to fulfillment of that “potential.” In other words, the athlete may have had very little potential, but upon hearing that he does have potential (offered by a credible coach no less) could actually trigger the motivation, focus, and work ethic that ultimately translates into “potential.” In this example, maximum athletic growth might not have happened if it weren’t for the coach raising the bar and the athlete gripping onto the idea that he really can dramatically improve.
Examples of self-fulfilling prophecies are all around us — just think back to when you were in school and how many prophecies you experienced? If a teacher suggested you could be really good at math, it’s likely you then began to believe that, and consequently studied harder and eventually got good math grades. Conversely, if you were told you simply didn’t have it for math, it’s likely you stopped trying and probably quit math at the first chance that you could.
Be careful what you say
Parents and coaches play a big role in self-fulfilling prophecies in sports, and sometimes the remarks they make unknowingly trigger both good and bad responses in the kids who hear their comments. When kids believe they have potential to do things, their confidence grows and their focus sharpens, often yielding positive end results. Similarly, it’s important to use caution when thinking of ways to tell a kid he or she might not have what it takes for a certain position, or even an entire sport. Our words really do count, especially as they are interpreted by the kids who look to us for mentoring and guidance.
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