The Quote that 80% of Success is Showing Up Doesn’t Apply to Athletes
There is an old quote that says that 80% of success is showing up. While this may be true in some things in life, it’s definitely not true for athletes. For athletes, I would reword this quote. Instead of “showing up” being 80% of success, I would say “defining success” is 80% of success.
If an athlete defines success by just winning, they can just compete against easy competition and win 100% of the time. A 15-year-old can just compete against middle schoolers for example. On the other hand, if an athlete defines success by getting better or being the “best”, winning is not enough. There must also be process and performance goals to back up winning outcomes.
If an athlete doesn’t properly define success with specific process and performance goals that progressively get more difficult to achieve, it’s very unlikely that they are performing at their best. Indeed, if an athlete is not performing at their best, winning is superficial.
As John Wooden is famous for saying:
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.