Why “Ego” Causes Athletes to Leave Opportunities on the Table
Ego goal orientation is one of two ways to approach goals as defined in goal perspective theory. It’s when an athlete focuses on comparing themself to others instead of focusing on being the best version of themself. For example, measuring personal success against the accomplishments of peers or when an athlete’s primary source of enjoyment in a sport comes from winning.
While some positive motivation is possible with ego goal orientation, too much ego is the primary reason why athlete’s leave opportunities on the table. Specifically, ego orientation causes three negative achievement behaviors that lead to athletes missing out on opportunities.
1) Lack of Persistence
Lack of persistence is when an athlete gives up too soon. An ego goal orientation drives this behavior in situations when competitors or teammates are making progress faster. That faster progress of others then causes feelings of self-doubt. This self-doubt then leads to thoughts that something is wrong, even when there is not. As a result, the ego drives a decision to quit prematurely without analyzing any other factors.
2) Debilitated Performance
Debilitated performance is when an athlete performs worse than their true ability. Ego goal orientation causes this in scenarios when too much focus is put on countering the competition’s strengths. When the focus is on countering the competition’s strengths, it’s typical to neglect the tactics and skills that utilize one’s own strengths. Consequently, the competition dictates the rules of engagement. This reactive approach rarely works. It drives the athlete’s attention away from skills that allow them to be at their best to seize opportunities.
3) Rescinding effort
Rescinding effort is when an athlete’s effort decreases when the challenge increases. Ego orientation causes this because the athlete seeks to protect the ego by intentionally not giving their best effort as the excuse for losing. If an athlete with an ego goal orientation gave their best effort and still loss, the emotional blow would be too much for them to handle. Therefore, they use the lack of effort to rationalize losing when they must “punch above their weight “.