Nothing is worse than having to ask yourself why I am bad at sports all of a sudden? You feel as if you dedicate so much of yourself to your sport but just do not see the results to back that effort up. I spent a bit of time talking to other athletes I know, and I came up with the main three reason why your success can be stalled. The frustration of not getting better put athletes into a state of doubt, they begin to no longer believe in their abilities, and that becomes an even more significant issue. You were once good, and now you feel so bad at sports and don’t know what to do.
The Pressure Factor Can Make You Bad at Sports
The self-pressure is like power in life; it can be great in the right hands, but horrible in the wrong hands. The fact is some people are not made to put pressure on themselves, while other people need to put way more pressure on themselves. The trick here is finding the balance.
Need Some Pressure?
You know you need to put more pressure and expectation on yourself if you don’t expect great performances from yourself at all. Many athletes get in this stage of wishing, wishing they get better and wishing they become the best. The problem with wishing is it’s weak, changeable and passive.
Putting limited pressure on yourself ensures you feel comfortable with never getting better. Even though you wish to be better, it won’t change. Why should your body waste time getting better when your mind knows you a perfectly fine with not getting better.
Pressure needs to come in the form of tiny goals you set every day, week, month and year. You use the little things to make the big things seem smaller and that much more achievable. This way you have something to hold yourself to, you have something to keep your mind and body challenged and always ready to get better.
Be Easy on The Pressure
This is the other side of the story, the side of the story that tends to be a bit more painful. Many times this is the category I fall into. The athletes who sometimes put way too much pressure on themselves to perform.
This athlete needs to become familiar with the word patience. You have to wait your time and be relaxed and let it come to you. Not every day is going to be your day, and no you are not going to win every battle, but you are going to win the war.
The problem with putting too much pressure on yourself is it makes you feel like you always are failing when in reality you are succeeding, but you just put so much on your shoulders that it does not even feel that way.
It’s not about lowering your expectations or expecting less from yourself in any way. It’s about taking things for what they are and being able to see that you are getting better athletically. If you only see negative, you will become a very pessimistic person, and the is not an attribute of successful people.
“The Tossed Pressure Factor”
This is the pressure that comes from others people. It has its benefits because it lets you know that people care about you and believe in you. At the same time, you have to expect more of yourself than others do. If not then you will always feel like you are trying to live up to what others want.
As the expectations become greater, you seem to feel further and further from reaching them. This pressure is unhealthy and can hold you back significantly if you are not very careful with it. It is one thing to expect and believe you are great, but it is another thing to rip into you after you do not do well.
The pressure factor can only be dealt with by talking to the source of pressure. Let them know that you appreciate their support and merely asking them to take some pressure off you. Doing this will help you perform better, and they enjoy the sport more.
So What? Are You Bad at Sports Now?
Getting better at the rates athletes would like is not always going to happen. There are a lot of things we can’t control that can get in the way. Most athletes never even stop to think about the pressures that surround them. Do it; it might surprise you to see what you expect of yourself or what others expect. You are not bad at sports; you need to adjust your expectations sometimes.
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
