Become a Better Athlete Through Modeling

Is it possible to love every single aspect of your sport? Before you answer, consider every detail, especially what you're not good at.

No athlete likes it when his or her weaknesses are exposed. In order to become better and excel at your sport, you must address those weaknesses. It may not be fun, and it might mean spending time working on aspects you dislike; but it's necessary if you want to improve as a player.

A great way to overcome weaknesses is through mindset modeling. The purpose of modeling is to overcome a deficiency that is limiting your performance. One athlete's weakness is another athlete's strength. Mindset modeling takes advantage of this. It works on the principle that if one person can do it, anyone can do it. So by figuring out how someone else does something and then learning how to do it yourself, you are essentially modeling that individual's behavior.

Are there teammates or professional athletes who seem to be motivated by a particular workout or task that you dread? Why do they look forward to it? How do they approach it? What gives it value for them?

Follow the steps below to change your attitude and gain motivation for a task or aspect you dislike.

1. Identify the behavior you want to model. What do you need to change to become a better athlete?
2. Find someone who behaves the way you want to. It can be someone famous or a teammate; the level of performance doesn't matter, only the behavior.
3. Analyze what he or she does in situations that you want to model. What do they say and how do they interact with others and their environment? Ask yourself what they think about and how they feel.
4. Once you have the answers you're looking for, play the role your model plays and notice how it works for you. Act like them, feel like them and talk like them. Do this until you are no longer modeling a person and your new behavior has become a habit.

Source: LosAngelesInspiration.com