Motivation is weapon #1 in tennis. Part 2

In the first part about this topic I explained why motivation is the number one weapon in tennis. To practice hard, to chase dreams for more than 20 years or to deal with another injury you need motivation. Only players who push themselves to the limits are able to not only get to the top but also to stay there for long time. We can clearly see that with examples of Rafa Nadal and Nick Kyrgios. Who do you think has bigger motivation to get better every day?

You already know that motivation is a skill. Players can get motivation from own actions or motivation can come from external factors. There are different possibilities to be motivated but one thing is true: motivation is for everyone who wants to have it. I agree that different people have different characters but being lazy is not an excuse – if you want to fight for something you will find the reason. And the reason is our first step.

It is much easier to do anything if we know the reason behind the action. If player goes to the practice because his parents paid for that you can’t expect 100% effort. He does it because he has to. On the other hand if player goes to the practice because he wants to get better and work on his strengths then the quality will be really high. The reason always has impact on motivation because action has a meaning. If you have a reason you should also set short-term goals.

Short-term goals are tasks that top athletes set all the time. They can be set daily, weekly or monthly and they include different skills related to improvement. That is why it is crucial that tennis players learn how to do it to maintain high level of motivation. If player sets goal to improve endurance by running every morning but it is raining – he will still go and run. What he sees behind the window is not terrible weather. He sees possibility to achieve own goal and to get closer to his dreams. Setting goals require few minutes but it can help player make hours of practice sessions that will result in better performance and good results during tournaments.

One other thing that always helps to perform what we don’t want to do is just to start. If we want to start eating healthy but we are scared of sacrifices we just have to start. It will be easier than we think but we have to make this first step. The same happens with going to the gym. Sometimes we are tired and our muscles want to rest in front of TV but we have training to do. Just start. I have never seen someone who would start lifting weights and finish the practice after 5 minutes because when you start your motivation increases and suddenly your mindset is set to improve.

Don’t forget about external motivation. Buying new clothes or going to the cinema can be a great motivational factor to do another set of reps or to fight for every ball during hot summer. Make sure that you add this little extra motivational boost when you really need it. Tired after the whole week? Tell yourself to make Friday’s practice the best in this week and after that you will go shopping without saving money.

All of the advice above are related to things that we can control but motivation also comes from factors that players can’t control by themselves. Motivation can come from winning the match or the tournament. Can you control the score? Definitely not. Can you control your preparation? Yes you can. Other players can also have impact on our motivation. When we have practice session with other players we can look how they fight or react to the mistakes. We can learn from them and use this knowledge to have even better quality work. Motivation can also come from surprising situations. When we get new sponsorship or someone asks us for interview these little aspects can create boost of energy to work hard and give a little bit extra to any action.

As you can see there are many ways to be motivated. Definitely it is recommended to focus on things that you can control and use motivational factors that come surprisingly to be able to maintain high level of required effort. Every time you don’t feel like doing something find a reason, set goal, just start it and maybe set some award for your constant effort. You will see that with this routine your performance won’t drop after lost match or at the end of hard week.

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