Many of you must be wondering after reading the title. Yes! Being an athlete is one thing, and having an athletic mindset is another thing. An athletic mindset is the spirit of sports. Whether you are chubby, short or affected by illness, you can have an athletic mindset, and it is not limited only to Olympic runners. In this post, let us discuss what it takes to have an athletic mindset and why it is different from being an athlete!
First, I would like to introduce myself as an ex-athlete. My events were 100m, 200m, long jump, and triple jump. I have succeeded till the national level with my best 100m timings at 11.85 seconds. I have practised athletics for around 7 years. In these years, I have interacted with many athletes from various origin. In my observation, not all athletes have an athletic mindset. Though everyone should work hard and maintain the discipline to get medals, few athletes have gifted genes and few others have early exposure with good infrastructure for practice. Largely, most of the athletes are goal-oriented like any other career option such as to represent the country, to win a medal at recognised games, setting word records etc.
In short, athletes are like any other professionals/workers who strive to excel in their work.
In contrast, an athletic mindset is not about excelling in sports; it’s about the active energy you have within yourself every day. There is no specific end benefit you get out of being in an athletic mindset. It’s about how you live by assimilating the essence of sports and sportsmanship.
The true spirit of sports lies in the mantra “I can, I will, and I must”. If you live by this mantra, then you have an athletic mindset.
The moment people see this mantra, everyone thinks about motivation videos or lectures. Most of us associate the line with some big goals in life or some desperate situation from which we need to come out of it. However, the slogan is not only about achieving great feats; in fact, it talks about how we should pursue life as a whole. For example, you are watching a show on TV along with your friends, and a few of your friends would like to have snacks. Now, the question is, who will get up from their place, go to the kitchen, and get snacks for everyone? Anyone can do it as the act is beneficial to everyone. In this example, if you are a person with an athletic mindset, then you will automatically get up and do the task.
In other words, you understand that you can do the task. Next, you will try to do the task; finally, you decide that you must do the task.
Hope you have got the gist of how the mantra works in real life. If an athlete is lazy outside the stadium, then the person does not have an athletic mindset. Similarly, even if you are a short, chubby person but with an attitude to do the task which you can, then you have the spirit of an athlete.
Let us now look at the 3 steps of an athletic mindset in detail and understand why it is the powerful way of living. One, they exhibit “CAN ATTITUDE” and always try to do what they can in every situation. Two, they are good learners as they have “WILL ATTITUDE”. As soon as they see an opportunity, they will upgrade themselves to suit the requirements. Three, through their “MUST ATTITUDE”, they exhibit strong perseverance. In total, people with an athletic mindset excel in life. Everyone likes them; they don’t crib about failures. They are in the virtuous cycle of positive energy.
So, next time, when someone knocks at your door, if you can, open the door. Don’t call out for someone. By doing this, you are displaying a “CAN” attitude. If you have so much office works to do, don’t blame your boss. Instead, upgrade your skill sets and get a promotion or change the company/industry. By doing this, you are showing a “WILL” attitude. When you fail after hard work, don’t blame fate; persevere. By doing this, you are irresistible with a “MUST” attitude. With all three combined, you will lead a happy life and success will follow you permanently no matter what you do. That’s the power of the “CAN, WILL & MUST” mantra –simply, athletic mindset.
In summary, an athletic mindset is all about living by the “I can, I will, and I must” mantra. If you think you can, you will upgrade to the requirements, and you must persevere till it happens. Small things are the best things to exhibit an athletic mindset.
Thanks for reading the full article. I encourage you to strongly be a person of athletic mindset irrespective of your interest in athletics. Wish you all the best!
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