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Motivation and Confidence
Everyone knows the feeling. You are really excited about something and set yourself a goal, whatever this might be, but then it happens. Somewhere along the way you loose your motivation, your
drive. Eventually you give up and abandon your goal.
This is a problem. You had big dreams, ambitious goals but you will not reach them. You will not develop as you wish and your full potential will not be exploited. You will not succeed without proper motivation. But there are always excuses you can fall back on: "I am too weak, I am not talented enough, it's too late anyway." Remember this: There are no excuses! You can acquire the knowledge and skills you lack, so the thing to work on is your mindset. Does a lazy talented person or a motivated "average" person develop more? In the beginning probably the talent but over time the motivated person. As the saying goes:
In order to train consistently you will need motivation and to reach extraordinary results you have to develop a strong inner confidence believing that you can do it. Motivation and confidence go hand-in-hand.
This is a problem. You had big dreams, ambitious goals but you will not reach them. You will not develop as you wish and your full potential will not be exploited. You will not succeed without proper motivation. But there are always excuses you can fall back on: "I am too weak, I am not talented enough, it's too late anyway." Remember this: There are no excuses! You can acquire the knowledge and skills you lack, so the thing to work on is your mindset. Does a lazy talented person or a motivated "average" person develop more? In the beginning probably the talent but over time the motivated person. As the saying goes:
"Ordinary things done consistently produce extraordinary results."
In order to train consistently you will need motivation and to reach extraordinary results you have to develop a strong inner confidence believing that you can do it. Motivation and confidence go hand-in-hand.
Motivational tools
Ok, I guess you can follow me so far and agree that motivation is a good and necessary thing. How to get it you ask? I will tell you now!
There are several techniques you can use to motivate yourself (and others) and these are some you can use successfully right away.
Why?
First you have to find your "why". Why are you training, what does your training mean to you and who are you really training for? I will ask you too dig deep and try to elicit the values you associate with your training. "I want to get in shape" is just not good enough to keep you motivated. Your "why" is the foundation and root of your motivation, so you better find a first-class reason for training!
Commitment
The next step could be making a commitment and this can be combined with goal setting. Clear some time in your calendar for training and commit to it! This is your holy time during the week and nothing will come between you and your training at that time. If you are not ready to commit, then commit to not training. Think about your why again.
While you are training you can set yourself realistic goals you can work towards. These can be specific like sticking 21 precisions in a row and/or something like giving everything you got and never give up. If necessary track your progress.
Note: Be aware not to get into the all-or-nothing mentality. If you missed your training once do not see it as a setback! Continue right away. Allow some flexibility in your training plan.
Emotions
A key aspect to keep you (free)running is to link positive emotions to your training. If you associate good feelings with training you will continue doing it. Train with people you enjoy being around and reward yourself for your achievements. This could be through positive self talk like "YES!" or a nice bath and sauna after training. You all know how good you feel after an intense training. Remember that feeling!
Note: Celebrate your victories but don´t brag.
There are several techniques you can use to motivate yourself (and others) and these are some you can use successfully right away.
Why?
First you have to find your "why". Why are you training, what does your training mean to you and who are you really training for? I will ask you too dig deep and try to elicit the values you associate with your training. "I want to get in shape" is just not good enough to keep you motivated. Your "why" is the foundation and root of your motivation, so you better find a first-class reason for training!
Commitment
The next step could be making a commitment and this can be combined with goal setting. Clear some time in your calendar for training and commit to it! This is your holy time during the week and nothing will come between you and your training at that time. If you are not ready to commit, then commit to not training. Think about your why again.
While you are training you can set yourself realistic goals you can work towards. These can be specific like sticking 21 precisions in a row and/or something like giving everything you got and never give up. If necessary track your progress.
Note: Be aware not to get into the all-or-nothing mentality. If you missed your training once do not see it as a setback! Continue right away. Allow some flexibility in your training plan.
Emotions
A key aspect to keep you (free)running is to link positive emotions to your training. If you associate good feelings with training you will continue doing it. Train with people you enjoy being around and reward yourself for your achievements. This could be through positive self talk like "YES!" or a nice bath and sauna after training. You all know how good you feel after an intense training. Remember that feeling!
Note: Celebrate your victories but don´t brag.
Core confidence
Confidence can be defined as the sureness of being able to handle the task at hand. There are different layers of confidence. On the one hand we have the surface layer which is the confidence we
project externally. On the other hand is core confidence which is our internal belief in ourselves. When the going gets tough it all comes down to our core confidence. No one can give this to you,
except yourself. People with a strong core confidence will perform better, attempt ever more difficult tasks, recover faster from setbacks (e.g. an injury) and overcome every obstacle in their
way.
Preparation
Preparation breeds confidence. To gain core confidence you need to put sufficient effort into every aspect of your training. This includes mental, technical and physical (conditioning) training. When you face a jump which is a real challenge to you, all of these three parts have to be well trained. These three aspects are a chain, and a chain is just as strong as the weakest link. Do not underestimate how powerful a well prepared body is when facing difficult training challenges so do your conditioning!
The worst enemy
The antagonist of confidence is fear. There is real fear (life-threatening situations) and imagined fear, but for the brain both fears are real. You need to use your logic to distinguish between the two and then turn the imagined fear into excitement. Excitement and fear are two very similar emotions. Here are some tips on how to do it.
A reason why our confidence might plummet is the loss of control in any given situation. Therefore you have to take control over the situation. Take a deep breath and relax. You are facing this jump because you choose to do so. You are calling the shots, nobody else.
When fear tries to sneak in like a ninja at night and tell you: "I wouldn´t do that, this is dangerous. If you fall you will break a leg.", don´t let it defeat you. Visualize success, not failure. See yourself successfully performing this jump.
Is it dangerous to cross the street? Yes, people get killed in traffic. Are you afraid of crossing the street? Do you imagine being hit by a bus when you leave your house? No, because you are in control. You look around before you cross the street. Same goes for parkour. You are prepared, you know what you can do, you are in control. Feel the excitement of leaving your comfort zone and confront your fears and you will see it will give you immense satisfaction and confidence in every aspect of your life.
Note: Don´t take any unnecessary risks. Respect your real (not imagined) fear and think.
Support
If you are feeling down and have lost your motivation, sometimes all it takes to get you in the right mindset again are some encouraging words from your friends. Be there for each other, inspire your fellow teammates and give them the push they need. You never know, they might give it back when you need it the most. It will also bolster your confidence if you contribute to the development of others.
Preparation
Preparation breeds confidence. To gain core confidence you need to put sufficient effort into every aspect of your training. This includes mental, technical and physical (conditioning) training. When you face a jump which is a real challenge to you, all of these three parts have to be well trained. These three aspects are a chain, and a chain is just as strong as the weakest link. Do not underestimate how powerful a well prepared body is when facing difficult training challenges so do your conditioning!
The worst enemy
The antagonist of confidence is fear. There is real fear (life-threatening situations) and imagined fear, but for the brain both fears are real. You need to use your logic to distinguish between the two and then turn the imagined fear into excitement. Excitement and fear are two very similar emotions. Here are some tips on how to do it.
A reason why our confidence might plummet is the loss of control in any given situation. Therefore you have to take control over the situation. Take a deep breath and relax. You are facing this jump because you choose to do so. You are calling the shots, nobody else.
When fear tries to sneak in like a ninja at night and tell you: "I wouldn´t do that, this is dangerous. If you fall you will break a leg.", don´t let it defeat you. Visualize success, not failure. See yourself successfully performing this jump.
Is it dangerous to cross the street? Yes, people get killed in traffic. Are you afraid of crossing the street? Do you imagine being hit by a bus when you leave your house? No, because you are in control. You look around before you cross the street. Same goes for parkour. You are prepared, you know what you can do, you are in control. Feel the excitement of leaving your comfort zone and confront your fears and you will see it will give you immense satisfaction and confidence in every aspect of your life.
Note: Don´t take any unnecessary risks. Respect your real (not imagined) fear and think.
Support
If you are feeling down and have lost your motivation, sometimes all it takes to get you in the right mindset again are some encouraging words from your friends. Be there for each other, inspire your fellow teammates and give them the push they need. You never know, they might give it back when you need it the most. It will also bolster your confidence if you contribute to the development of others.
Your choice
It is not easy to be motivated all the time but as discussed above everyone has the ability to create motivation and confidence. It is not something you are born with. If you really want something
but you are postponing it you have to ask yourself: "Am I putting this off for a good reason, or just because it feels difficult?" There will be no magical day in the future where your motivation
suddenly skyrockets and everything becomes like in your dreams. You have to work for it. Nothing worth doing is truly effortless. Now is your only moment of power so use it!
Confidence and motivation also reflect your approach to life. When you come across obstacles you decide how to deal with them. Either you choose to see obstacles as boundaries or you choose to see opportunities and possibilities. Avoid or overcome. It is your choice. If you choose the first option you are giving up control and letting your fear take over. Do you want that?
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Confidence and motivation also reflect your approach to life. When you come across obstacles you decide how to deal with them. Either you choose to see obstacles as boundaries or you choose to see opportunities and possibilities. Avoid or overcome. It is your choice. If you choose the first option you are giving up control and letting your fear take over. Do you want that?
"You need to be a master of your environment, not a servant to it"
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Written by Jonas Huusom
3 / 3 Kommentarer
Tak skal i have boys. Synes også den er blevet god og er da lidt stolt af den :) Har også tænkt meget over hvad jeg ville sige og hvordan jeg kunne strukturere den. Håber den kan bruges "in the field" og ik er for teoretisk. Vi ses snart!
Posted by Jonas 2010-03-08 10:37:27
Super fedt, Jonas!
Posted by Ruff 2010-02-25 14:51:25
Jonas, - tak for en god og let forståelig artikkel. Jeg er meget glad for citatet: "Ordinary things done consistently produce extraordinary results." og jeg tror mit nye mantra bliver: "Nothing worth doing is truly effortless. Now is your only moment of power so use it!"
Posted by 2010-02-20 09:35:08
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