By Colin Walker, with Jeff Mooney, SportsCan
Over my 25 years+ of coaching, I have seen many athletes come through my gym doors. The majority of these athletes were great kids. One of the big factors I have noticed over that time that separates the elite from the rest was accountability.
How many times in life does a child refuse to accept responsibility for their action and point the finger at others instead of looking in the mirror first? It happens every day. How often do you hear players and parents say one of these after their team loses a game?
• The referee/umpire was terrible!
• The field/ice was awful!
• I didn’t play well because I had too much homework last night and I was tired!
• Our coach isn’t very good and he doesn’t like me! He doesn’t teach us anything!
• I have lousy teammates!
What is the common theme of these statements? These statements are excuses!
Accountability (accepting responsibility) is a major aspect of being mentally prepared to play a sport, or conduct anything in life. It’s about having the proper frame of mind, and that starts with being mentally and physically prepared. These principles not only help with sports, but also are transferrable life lessons.
The most important message that comes across is that individuals need to take responsibility for their actions, which allows them to learn what is needed to be the best in their sport and in life.
We need to recognize when we make mistakes and not make excuses so that we can learn from them.
Admit mistakes to move ahead
Those who have gone on to achieve great success have no problem admitting their past mistakes. Instead, they are in constant pursuit of revealing them, for it is their ability to identify those mistakes and their passion and strong character to confront them with change that fuel their success.
It is their desire to challenge that exact same situation that they struggled with previously – but with a new and improved response – that sets them apart from all others.
As outsiders looking in on an individual’s success, we are blind to countless struggles and obstacles that the individual was faced with along their route to success. We are often only witness to the favorable end result and the glory associated with it.
The reality is that the number of struggles always outweighs the number of successful outcomes. However, for those who enjoy continual success, it is those countless struggles that make each individual success well worth the journey.
It is why those who continue to succeed embrace the very moments that most others run from, for in the end we are all owners of our final outcomes.