Pulled by Greatness. Pushed by Fear

What drives an athlete to be the best in the world? I learnt this week that there are two different mindsets for driving athletes to this extent. A pushing and pulling position where athletes are either driven by a delusion that they are the best in the world and they need to live up to that potential. Or they are driven by a fear of not living up to their potential. It think I fall more into the latter category and I want to explain each type of drive and what balance of the two is ideal for long term success in sport.

First is the pulling drive. The delusion that you are the best. And then working relentlessly to prove it. I think this position can be very powerful as you are forced to come up with creative solutions and work harder to prove yourself.

The second is the pushing drive where you are afraid of not living up to your potential. Afraid of being anything other than the best you can be. This is also very powerful as there is technically no limit. You always think you can be a little bit better and so you're never satisfied with where you are. Never being satisfied can also be a downside though. As well as this type of person avoiding competition where they know they can't win.

These two motivations are actually very similar. They both are a comparison to a future version of ourselves. And the drive comes from our current skill set falling short of that and also believing we can change that. Where they differ is when we are pulled by the delusion of being the best, there does seem to be a finish line. And with pushing drive, our comparison is constant, even if we are the best in the world.

So what drive is the best for long term success in sport? I think we need to take parts from each. We need to have a sense that we could be the best in the world but not a delusion that causes us to burn out and over train. We also need the self comparison with our own potential, but still be able to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. 

I'm in a place at the moment where I am still figuring this out for myself. In the meantime I am trying to stick to my routines and keep the momentum for when my motivation does become more clear.