Wednesday, September 05, 2024

Life is a process of self-discovery. One thing that is necessary for you to grow as a person is your ability to recognize who you are as a person, how you are as a person, and why you are the way you are. When you reach new heights within yourself, you can reach new heights in your life. The key to this is self-awareness. 

1. Questions to Enhance Self-Awareness

Who are you? What do you like? What do you find repulsive? What makes you angry? What drives your motivation? Who brings out the best in you? Who does the opposite? What disappoints you? Why did you react this way when this person did this to you? When do you feel happiest? Why did you do that thing you swore you would never do again? Why do you say sorry when you’re not at fault? Why didn’t you say sorry when you were wrong? The answers to these questions help us understand ourselves better. When we understand ourselves, we can live better with ourselves. When we can live better with ourselves, we can live better with others. Life is about forging and sustaining relationships. The quality of our relationships partly determines our happiness, and our happiness depends on how we treat ourselves personally. If more of the people I interact with contribute to happiness in my life, I will live a happy life. If more people contribute to negativity, I will live an unhappy life. To forge blissful and fruitful relationships, happiness must start within ourselves.

Self-awareness is how you align your thoughts and behaviors with your own personal set of rules. Everyone has a personal set of rules they live by, whether they consciously created them or not. Some people enjoy talking about others in their absence, so they love gossip, whether they realize it or not. Some people think lying is absolutely unnecessary under any circumstance, so they always tell the truth and may have more honest and trustworthy friendships, even if they don't realize it. Aligning what you believe with how you behave creates a stronger sense of self. This is being consistent with yourself. When you are consistent with yourself, it is easy to identify your behaviors. Have you ever met someone who is unpredictable? One moment they seem just peachy, and in the next instant, they blow up in a fit of rage. Or someone who swears they will never date a certain person again, but they break their promise and go back to the same person or date someone just like them? This person is not consistent with themselves. Consistently following the beliefs you hold inside with the actions you perform in your everyday life will make it easier to continue behaviors that support you and cut behaviors that harm you.

5 Athlete Character Qualities That Surpass Individual Talent

What do coaches look for when selecting and keeping a player on a team?

After interviewing several local coaches in the Miami area, I have compiled a short list of non-negotiable characteristics that coaches prefer in team selection. These qualities go beyond technical skills and add significant value to the team environment.

1. Coachable

Coachability, in my opinion, is the #1 character quality of any athlete. I can guarantee that most coaches feel the same way. Being a coachable player means that you have a willingness to be coached by your coach instead of trying to coach yourself. Wait a minute, Coach Ashleigh, are you contradicting yourself? Aren’t you the one who talks about self-reliance? Yes, I am. But I’m talking about accepting advice from your coach instead of trying to coach yourself in a team setting. Your coach has information that is directly relevant to the game, your position, your role within the team, your responsibilities on the field, the team’s style of play, and what they expect in training. This information needs to reach you and be absorbed by you. No coach wants to deal with a player who thinks they know everything. If a player knew everything, they should already be getting paid to play. If not, stop the noise and listen to your coaches. Even at the college and professional levels, all coaches want to know that a player is willing to learn and trust the coach’s plans, even if they don’t fully understand the big picture. Coachability is more than just listening to your coach and doing what you’re told. It’s about putting yourself in a position to be helped, taught, and mentored by your coach.

2. Self Confidence

If you can believe it, you can achieve it. Believing in yourself can take you to heights you’ve never imagined. Negative thinking will produce negative results, while positive thinking will yield positive outcomes. How you feel about yourself is everything. If you feel good about your abilities on the field, you will perform at your best. If you are unsure about your strengths, or if you speak and think negatively about yourself and your abilities, you will never perform well. Coaches can see when a player is confident. If a player walks with her shoulders caved in, drags her feet, and looks down most of the game or session, it reflects how that player feels about herself. She may visibly display frustration through her tone of voice, motions, gestures, or body language—or a combination of all three. She’s not confident. Coaches will observe how players respond emotionally to various situations in practices and games. They know that players who believe in themselves and trust their abilities can uplift the team and enhance the training environment.

3. Hunger

Players who are hungry get after it. They don’t whine. They don’t complain. They don’t make petty excuses. They have grit. (Click here to read up on grit). They have a burning desire for self-improvement and an utter excitement for practices and games. Can you think of a time when you were starving and felt that if you didn’t eat soon, you might pass out or even die—or something else dramatic? You’ve got to be starving for this game. Any chance you get to better yourself, you take, or you feel like you’re missing something. When you can’t practice for a week because you’re out with the flu, you’re dying to get back on the field. Just holding a ball at home satisfies your hunger for a little bit. But you aren’t full yet. You’re dying to get back on the field, and you would do anything to achieve your goals, regardless of what people say about you or what the circumstances are. Nothing else matters when you have a ball at your feet. Coaches can sense real hunger and passion from players versus those who fake it for clout or just to get by. Hungry players go above and beyond. They absolutely destroy the buffet and come back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. They don’t leave food on the table. Your actions show your true desire for the game more than your words ever could. Talk less, work more.