What About You?
So what about you?
Look again at the qualities listed in ‘The Mark of a Champion’ – What is interesting is that these are skills that anyone can use, anytime.
So, this time, replace the athlete’s situation with your own, and think about how you could be determined, modest or optimistic in your own life. It doesn’t have to be with sport – it could be at school, with a hobby, or even with your family or in a relationship you have.
Some examples...
- Modesty / Ambition / Commitment
So, imagine you’ve finished top of the class in a recent maths exam. Well done. But does that mean you are a master of mathematics? Does it mean that you don’t need to bother attending class anymore? Does it make you better than your classmates?
No, of course it doesn’t. That exam is just a moment in time. And time moves on. A champion knows this, which is why they never let themselves think they are unbeatable or believe their own hype. They keep their feet on the ground. That’s being modest.
And at the same time, now that you have achieved something, it’s time to move onto the next target. Time doesn’t stand still, and the best way to enjoy that feeling of satisfaction again is to raise your game further, and start working towards a new high. So being ambitious is about always looking to improve.
Lastly, you must commit to your ambition. Now that you know you have an ability in maths, or whatever the subject may be, do everything you can to harness that ability. Work hard, practice, challenge yourself and focus on your skill. So many so successful people will tell you that the reason they have done so well wasn’t because they were the most talented – but because they tried harder than anyone else. That’s commitment.
- Optimism / determination / self belief
The same applies here as it does above, but except in reverse. This time, imagine you’ve messed up your maths exam. Maybe you didn’t work hard enough, or perhaps you were just unlucky on the day. But either way, the result wasn’t good enough and now you’re behind. So, what do you do – do you give up? Do you accept that you will just never be good at maths?
Well, firstly, like any champion athlete, you must be optimistic. And that means seeing the positives in a situation, no matter how hopeless things might seem. Even if you hit rock bottom in your test scores, be grateful that the only way you can go from bottom is back up!
Being optimistic is backed up by determination – that’s your will to succeed and refusal to give up. Determination is gritting your teeth and getting on with the job, no matter how tough it is. You might hate doing quadratic equations or algebra, but if you don’t make an effort you’ll never get better. You might even find that being more determined may even help you to start enjoying the challenge!
Finally, the biggest one of all: self belief. Quite simply, it’s your inner faith in yourself that you can do something. It might be extremely difficult, but ultimately you must know that you can achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. If a tough maths question was actually impossible, your teacher wouldn’t ask you to do it. So you know that it’s possible – and therefore, you should believe that you can do it. So self-belief is recognising what you can realistically achieve – and then backing yourself to do it.