Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

For the last two days I have put a heavy emphasis on how athletes must use the process mindset and purpose to tap into their true potential. I am a firm believer that the primary factor that separates elite athletes from everyone else is this. It’s not genetics, luck, or any other factor outside of an athlete’s control. Instead, it’s purpose, process, and the discipline to execute.

Unquestionably, this is far easier to say than to do. Purpose is all about accomplishing goals that go beyond the self. In other words, when an athlete has true purpose, their goals aren’t selfish. However, it’s difficult not to be selfish in sports, and it’s even harder when an athlete plays an individual sport.

Elite Athletes not only want to win, but they also want the world to recognize them as being the best. So, the question is how do you bring purpose to this pursuit of individual greatness? Well, to start I suggest using this quote from professor and author William Damon, PhD, in his book The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life as a guide:

A true purpose is an ultimate concern. It is the final answer to the question of Why? Why am I doing this? Why does it matter? Why is it important for me and for the world beyond me? Why do I strive to accomplish this end? A purpose is the reason behind the immediate goals and motives that drive most of our daily behavior.

Uncovering the WHY in Playing a Sport to Find Purpose

For an athlete to answer these questions FROM Damon, they must have the self-awareness to go deep into their motivations. To do this I suggest using the concept of the “Five Whys” method. This is a concept first formalized and documented in Japan by Sakichi Toyoda in the early 1900s and applied extensively in helping grow Toyota into one of the best companies in the world.

The “Five Whys” method forces one to go beyond what they say they want and understand why they want it. Therefore, you must ask why about the answer to why you want to achieve a goal at least five times deep before concluding with an ultimate why answer. Damon poses 4 questions:

1. Why am I doing this? i.e. It takes a lot of pain and sacrifice to play sports at an elite level, so why do I put myself through this pain and sacrifice?
2. Why does it matter? i.e. Once I become an elite athlete, why will it matter and who will it matter to other than me?
3. Why is it important for me and for the world beyond me? i.e. Will I be able to change the world, my country, my state, my community, my school, or my family in some way because of my success?
4. Why do I strive to accomplish this end? i.e. Is the process I’m following making me or others better in some way outside of athletics?

Following this application of the “Five Whys” method will provide an athlete with at least 20 why answers to use as input into their purpose. Undoubtedly, this process will not only make an athlete more self-aware, but it will also give them the fuel to tap into their true potential.