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Performance slumps and lost motivation
Motivation is always DIRECTED at something
The term “Motivation” creates images of activity, enthusiasm and specific actions and goals in your sport. Motivation is essential to achievement in any sport. If you are not motivated to perform you will probably not even start the game, you may not even show up at the performance venue.
Motivation is also one of the hardest mental skills to understand accurately. The research labs and universities of the world have filled countless books and journals on research findings which help us to understand this complex human and animal condition.
Performance slumps and Motivation Breakdown
Sometimes there are moments or even days and weeks where your motivation seems to be absent without leave (AWOL). Some of the mental barriers in Motivation include:
- Freezing or jammed up.
This is technically termed “approach-avoid anxiety”. This is a time when you seem to be ambivalent about an upcoming event or even about your sport in general. The thought of competing causes you to be fearful or anxious or depressed. You may “freeze” and be unable to move forward in your training or competition performance. You feel as though you want to run away but you can’t because you need to stay and perform, even in training.
- Flat battery syndrome
This occurs when there is a change in the reward status of the personal achievements that you regard as important. You may feel that you have put in a lot of effort but the personal rewards are not enough to keep you interested. Sometimes it feels like you are training or playing with an elephant on your back.
- Too hard
This is similar to “Flat battery syndrome” but is really an examination of the “cost benefit ratio” or the balance of rewards versus the work required. In this condition you tend to look at the amount of work that you need to do and become despondent and depressed about the time and effort that is required to get to the level of performance you need in order to achieve your goals and rewards.
- Confusion
Sometimes you can be highly motivated but your wheels are spinning and you go nowhere. This happens during information overload when you may say “Where do I start?” or “What do I do?”
Solution: This is only a brief outline of complex personal issues.
Negative emotions can interfere with your motivational states and motivational preparation by distracting you from the motivation techniques you are trying to implement. Part of the solution is to refocus on your motivation mode words* and use the motivation pump* to counteract the anxiety. Resetting sub goals and detailing personal rewards meaning and power along with progress points may be appropriate depending on your personal circumstance.
Performance slumps can be caused by any of the above or all of them interacting in concert along with other personally relevant issues.
* Term used in Winning Zone Mental Skills training program