Sports

Staying Motivated While Learning A New Sport

Marc Gordon
Dec 12, 2022

One of the primary reasons that push each person to accomplish what they love and excel at is motivation. Many issues in sports and physical activity stem from a lack of drive. Many different factors, including perseverance, learning, and performance, may be influenced by motivation. Let’s keep reading to find out how to maintain your enthusiasm when studying a new activity.

One’s drive may be bolstered by working with a partner or participating in a team sport. Having a friend or training partner to compete with during workouts may be a great way to keep yourself motivated. The best way to ensure that you stay on track and accomplish what you set out is to make objectives for both the near and far future that are grounded in reality. Asking yourself, “What do I need to accomplish today to bring myself closer to reaching my goals?” might help you set goals for practice sessions. By keeping track of one’s performance, athletes may maintain enthusiasm throughout a game or match.

Portrait of young woman holding basketball outdoors

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It might help to tell yourself encouraging things when you’re feeling unmotivated. Imagine you’re participating in an endurance sport and telling yourself, “I’m never going to finish!” I just can’t! Here’s when positive self-talk comes into play; telling yourself, “I know I can do this!” may help you fight back and motivate. I’ve been training for this for three months, five days a week. Releasing anxiety may also be accomplished using self-talk signals or comments like “Take a deep breath” or “I’m okay.” Or maybe just using the word “focus” out loud will help you zero in on what you need to do.

It’s not uncommon for people to feel like learning a new activity and maintaining a steady routine is tedious, time-consuming, and ultimately unfulfilling. If you feel like you have plateaued in your performance, you may contemplate giving up the sport altogether. Motivation is key to success as an athlete, but maintaining that drive may get old. It really comes down to an individual’s response to a given set of circumstances.