Uncomfortable Truth: Athletes Who Don’t Work Hard Have Deeper Issues
Some athletes work harder than others. There is no debating this. However, are the athletes who don’t work their hardest lazy? Well, it depends on your perspective.
If you view the concept of lazy through the lens of a personality trait, then you might view an athlete who doesn’t work hard as lazy. On the other hand, if you are like me and view the concept of lazy as a temporary state and not a trait, then you would see the lazy label as taking the easy way out.
It’s easy to use laziness as a catch all to justify the lack of hard work. It makes explaining the lack of will to work hard easy, but it doesn’t make the problem go away.
The fact of the matter is that very few people are truly lazy, and even fewer athletes. However, most parents, coaches, and teammates are not ready to confront the uncomfortable truth that an athlete who doesn’t work hard may be showing a symptom of a deeper issue.
For example, that athlete may not be working as hard as others because of:
- Fear
- Low self-esteem
- Lack of interest
- Not believing in the process
- Lack of knowledge
- Lack of energy (due to bad diet / health / lack of sleep)
- Depression
- Addiction
Instead of taking the easy way out and judging an athlete as lazy for not being a hard worker, try to dig deeper and challenge yourself to help that athlete confront the real problem.