Remember when Austin Powers lost his mojo (actually Dr. Evil stole his mojo)? Man, did that ever put him in a funk – – he had to go on a mission to get it back.
Remember how the movie ended (SPOILER ALERT) … he had it all along, it wasn’t something that anyone could steal.
Well, after hearing/reading a whole whack of goalies complaining about trying to find their motivation I feel compelled to write this potentially harsh article for you. Although it may be a little harsh, know that it is because I love you (I really do) and it is what some of you need to hear.
Here we go…
Wanna find your motivation? Look inside (mine is in the middle of my body, just below my Xyphoid process)…because that is where it is and the ONLY place you can find it.
If you need a new blocker, more lessons from a goalie coach or my favourite… just need to get more starts in order to be motivated, then I think you are in for a rough road.
One of the biggest hurdles to your success is that you are waiting to ‘feel motivated’. When things are tough, you are sitting on the bench, you get in the game and get lit up, even in practice you are a sieve, you go home and pout. You stop doing your mobility, strength or speed training because you aren’t feeling motivated.
Then you have a good outing, the coach gives you a few starts… NOW you feel motivated, so you are going to workout every day and really go for it…until you hit the next bump in the road.
Getting motivation from an external stimulus can work from time to time; new pads, a new team, a new workout program… but that will always fade.
STEP ONE: Look Inside
Motivation needs to come from YOU! That is the only place true motivation can come from.
Motivation is not the same as enthusiasm
I think you also confuse motivation with enthusiasm. You think that you should be skipping with joy into the rink or gym every day otherwise something is wrong with your motivation.
That isn’t the case.
In my view motivation is having a goal, a purpose and a commitment to achieving that goal and sometimes it is a GRIND.
My friend, past client and Olympic Champion rower Marnie McBean talks about training in her book The Power Of More. Marnie was one of the hardest workers I have seen, I always thought she was so highly “motivated” that she willingly brought that work ethic every day. I thought she skipped to and from the lake for practice every day.
I was wrong – – she worked as hard as she did out of fear. Fear of failure, fear of looking weak, fear of not achieving her goals. Her commitment to her quest for excellence, to become a champion, outweighed her dread of the pain that comes with training to be an elite rower.
Even legendary boxer Muhammed Ali hated training. Are you familiar with this quote?
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a Champion.’”
The motivation is to achieve the goal and that will outweigh the pain, frustration, boredom of everything else.
No one can give you that.
No one can make you want it.
Even if you give your kid a kick in the @ss to get them going, they will eventually fizzle out – if they aren’t motivated to achieve the goal from within.
Stop Looking Austin
Step One: So stop looking for your mojo or your motivation, it isn’t something you can find.
Ask yourself these two questions:
“What do I want to achieve?”
“Are the sacrifices worth it?”
If they are worth it, you will do it. If you don’t do it, then it isn’t worth it to you (and that is totally fine too).
Just please stop whining about having trouble finding your motivation.
If you are stuck, then ask for help.
Talk to your coach or a friend.
If you need to be more skilled, talk to a goalie coach and start taking action. If you are too slow or not flexible enough, get on a good training program that you can keep up with – – like this one.
If you are mentally defeated, find a good sport psychologist to talk to (I can give you the name of one).
Step Two: Take Action
Nothing changes until you take action. Action feeds your motivation because it moves you closer to your goal.
Now go get it!
Cheers,
M
PS – I know some of you have things dialed in big time, you don’t need to email me to tell me how motivated you are – – I know you are taking care of business 🙂 …but you are always welcome to email me.