Teaching Young Athletes to Keep Commitments Made to Themselves

Teaching Young Athletes to Keep Commitments Made to Themselves

Commitment is the 8th core value that leads children to develop self-motivation. A commitment starts with a promise and ends with fulfilling that promise with action. In other words, a commitment tends to infer giving your word or making a “handshake” agreement. It’s generally not referring to a formal legal agreement. Therefore, the only consequences one typically faces for breaking a commitment is a loss of trust.

Furthermore, it’s often easier to keep commitments made to others than it is to keep to yourself. There is a sense of guilt when you fail to meet a commitment made to someone else. This feeling of guilt holds you accountable. As a result, having the ability to hold yourself accountable to personal commitments is the secret sauce for self-motivation.

The Secret to Keeping Commitments Made to Yourself

If you want to teach a young athlete how to keep the commitments they make to themselves, then there is one secret above all you must make them understand. If you make commitments without follow through enough times, it then becomes a habit.

The first time you make a commitment with no follow through, it’s hard. You have a sense of guilt, and feel bad that you didn’t hold yourself accountable. The second time you do this, it gets easier. The third time, you don’t even think about it. Then, from that point forward commitments made to yourself mean nothing.

If you can help young athletes buy-in to this concept then teaching all other lessons of commitment are easy. They must know without a shadow of a doubt that fulfilling each and every personal commitment is critical to success.

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