Characteristics of a (Sporting) Champion

The 20 Characteristics of a (Sporting) Champion are –

1. Become a student of your sport; read and learn as much as possible.
2. When asked to try new things, apply yourself fully.
3. Communicate with your coach, especially if troubled by a decision/direction.
4. Trust your coach.
5. Learn from mistakes and problems to acquire positive rewards in the future.
6. Discipline yourself so that you can train by yourself when necessary (given adequate directions by your coach).
7. Recognise that monitoring your weight (gain or loss) is important.
8. Always keep a diary of your training: venues, session details, times, conditions, reactions etc.
9. Be honest with yourself and your coach.
10. Win, lose or draw, look for reasons rather than excuses.
11. Plan for everything to go wrong. Do not get upset if things don’t go according to plan; have an alternate plan to implement.
12. Don’t waste energy on issues over which you have no control.
13. Enjoy training and competition; keep striving for better performances.
14. Be prepared: always arrive with all necessary equipment in working order.
15. Set personal goals, challenging yourself further when they are achieved.
16. Don’t miss training (even if the alternative is attractive).
17. Plan your competition schedule in detail, in advance.
18. Focus on the things you can control.
19. When tired in a session, concentrate on your technique.
20. Try to learn at least one thing from every competition.

Characteristics of a Champion in Life

The 20 Characteristics of a Champion in Life (the changes I made are in italics) are –

1. Become a student of life; read and learn as much as possible.
2. When asked to try new things, apply yourself fully.
3. Communicate with your family, friends and coach, especially if troubled by a decision/direction.
4. Trust your family, friends and coach.
5. Learn from mistakes and problems to acquire positive rewards in the future.
6. Discipline yourself so that you can train by yourself when necessary (given adequate directions by your coach).
7. Recognise that monitoring your weight (gain or loss) is important.
8. Always keep a diary of your dreams, goals, plans, intentions and other important information (i.e. sleep and feelings).
9. Be honest with yourself and your family, friends and coach.
10. Win, lose or draw, look for reasons rather than excuses.
11. Plan for everything to go wrong. Do not get upset if things don’t go according to plan; have an alternate plan to implement.
12. Don’t waste energy on issues over which you have no control.
13. Enjoy life and work: keep striving for better performances.
14. Be prepared: always arrive with all necessary equipment in working order.
15. Set personal goals, challenging yourself further when they are achieved.
16. Don’t miss showing up (even if the alternative is attractive).
17. Plan your life in detail, in advance.
18. Focus on the things you can control.
19. When tired in life, concentrate on the present moment.
20. Try to learn at least one thing from every experience.

Over to You…

What do you think – are there any characteristics you would add? Remember – No one thing will raise your level of performance. It is the little things, performed with excellence and done consistently, which will make the ultimate difference!

Also, if you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart, why not join our newsletter?

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“It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable.” ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Eustress vs Distress

Stress is not always “bad” thing. It is subjective, so something that is stressful for you may not be stressful for someone else. Stress can motivate us to change habits and move us closer to our chosen dreams, and aspirations. If we felt no stress, we would not be compelled to act in ways that bring about conscious and meaningful change.

There are a few different types of stress we can experience, however essentially they fall in to two different categories – eustress and distress.  What are some of the differences between eustress and distress?

Glad you asked have a look at the graphic below…

Some Possible Examples of Eustress and Distress In Elite Sport for Athletes

As we all manage stress differently, it is hard to categorise stress objectively. However, following is a table that identifies a list of stressors for athletes within elite sport that have been divided in to example of eustress and distress for athletes.

Are there any other possible example of eustress or distress for athletes in sport you would add? If so, what are they? Feel free to share them below in the comments section.

Questions for Reflection –

Following are a couple of questions for reflection on stress.

• How do you typically respond to stressful events in your life?
• Do you allow yourself to sit with stress and use the stressful energy constructively? or Do you feel overwhelmed by stress and turn towards a state of panic or physical/emotional withdrawal?

Over to You…

Remember, change is a constant part of life and from every experience we can practice new ways of responding to stress instead of reacting.

Feel free to share any insights or responses below. If you liked this article and want to keep taking the next step towards freedom and thriving in sport and life, please feel free to join the Sport Life Flow community by clicking here.

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Today, I wanted to share with you 9 specific ways an athlete can benefit from resilience and well-being coaching.

9 Ways An Athlete Can Benefit from Resilience and Well-Being Coaching

There are many benefits an athlete can receive from working with a coach. Following are nine popular benefits that I have heard from the athletes I work with.

1. Clarify and Align to What You Truly Want in Life

When was the last time you sat down and truly identified what you want and looked at your life outside of sport? Yes, your relationships, your dreams, your other skills and talents outside of sport.

“Fear regret more than failure.” ~ Taryn Rose

2. Increase Your Genuine Level of Self-Confidence

What would you do today if you had genuine self-confidence in your life (not just your sport)? Or maybe you would also do things differently in your sport? A life coach can support you to increase your genuine level of self-confidence.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~ Dale Carnegie

3. Expand Your Professional Career Opportunities

Being an athlete doesn’t last forever, it has a lifespan. Is it time to start thinking about expanding your professional career opportunities outside of sport?

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” ~ Jim Rohn

4. Supports You to Manage Stress and Increase Your Resilience and Wellbeing

Being an athlete can be stressful. There is a lot to manage and then you are expected to perform at your best on top of that. It can also be tough to deal with other people’s expectations and losses. A life coach can support you to increase your toolkit of resources (i.e. mindfulness, self-management, emotional intelligence and self-compassion) to increase your resilience and wellbeing.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” ~ William James

5. Develop Written Plans and Grow Accountability Levels

Do you ever wish you had a sounding board to discuss your plans and have someone hold you accountable to them? A resilience and well-being coach is on your side and wants you to succeed as much as you do.

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Denis Waitley

6. Increase Harmony and Balance Across Your Sport and Life

Do you find you invest more time in your sport than on other areas of your life? Is having harmony and balance across your sport and life important to you?

“You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” ~ Zig Ziglar

7. Improve Communication Skills

Effective communication relies on a high degree of self-awareness. By developing awareness and understanding your own communication style can help to build quality relationships with other people and handle conflict. Communication is more than just your words, it also includes –

• how you say it – including the tone of your voice,
• why you say it – the intention behind the message,
• when you say it – for example – during an argument, the time of day etc.,
• what you don’t say – sometimes what you don’t say gives a clearer picture of what is going on than what you say, and
• your body language – including your facial expressions, gestures and posture.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” ~ George Bernhard Shaw

8. Increase Life Satisfaction

Your career as an athlete may be going well, however how satisfied are you with your whole life? Yes, your life outside of sport? A life coach can support you to look at your whole life and also start the transition process out of sport.

“To be able to look back upon ones’ life in satisfaction, is to live twice.” ~ Khalil Gibran

9. Unconditional Support

When was the last time you had someone listen to you and your dreams and support you unconditionally? Being an athlete can be challenging as you are supporting other people. Sometimes these other people are so focused on your sporting results and performance, they forget you are a human being first. A life coach supports you master your whole life, not just your performance on the sporting field.

“Helping others isn’t a chore; it is one of the greatest gifts there is.” ~ Liya Kebede

 

Over to You…

I hope this post has give you some insight in to the different ways an athlete can benefit from resilience and well-being coaching. If you would like to find out more about life coaching, click here.

Also – if you liked this article and want to keep taking the next step towards freedom and bridge the gap between sport and life, please feel free to join the Sport Life Flow community by clicking here.

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