Andre Agassi Shares Dirty Secret About Winning Athletes Never Talk About
There is a dirty little secret about winning that athletes never talk about. The reason why athletes never talk about this dirty secret is because it’s sobering while the idea of winning is intoxicating.
Moreover, it’s the intoxicating illusions of winning that fuels the dedication and discipline it takes to win on the highest levels. Subsequently, remaining silent about this secret is what helps athletes maintain the positive illusion mindset they need for motivation.
Since Andre Agassi is a retired athlete, he doesn’t follow this creed of silence any longer. In his gripping bestselling biography, that I highly recommend all athletes read, Agassi breaks the silence on the truth about winning. He states:
They declare that I’m a winner, a player of substance, the real deal. They say my victory at Wimbledon forces them to reassess me, to reconsider who I really am.
But I don’t feel that Wimbledon has changed me. I feel, in fact, as if I’ve been let in on a dirty little secret: winning changes nothing. Now that I’ve won a slam, I know something that very few people on earth are permitted to know. A win doesn’t feel as good as a loss feels bad, and the good feeling doesn’t last as long as the bad. Not even close.
Andree Agassi – Open: Chapter 14
So, there you have it. Winning is a goal that is all bark no bite. As I teach my clients, outcomes such as winning are great to use as a compass for where you want to go, but they’re terrible goals. Goals that sound better than they feel must never be the end game for athletes. Instead, the feeling one is searching for must be in the process of pursuing the outcome.
Don’t let this dirty little secret be the cause of your unhappiness and burnout. As many athletes have become victims of it.