How To Keep Thinking Like An Athlete

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How to think like an athlete, this a great question and a great way to think if you want to be the best you can be. Athletes do think differently to the average person and that is why they are fantastic at what they do and some go on to win medals at Olympics. They have a reason to train something to aim for what is your?

I listen to a radio station in my studio and over the holidays the new host Jonathan has been filling in as a radio announcer while the main hosts are away on holiday.  He is hilarious.  He comes across as a typical, hard working Aussie bloke who enjoys his footy, cricket, a few beers and family.  (In that order???)  I love him (and Susie O’Neill for that matter) and I reckon he definitely has a career post professional AFL player in radio.  In fact I dare say Ash Kip and Lutzy will struggle to hold onto their jobs in 2017, but that’s not what this article is about.

Jonathan touched on an interesting point which is quite valid for all professional athletes post their sporting career.  Apart from the obvious career move once they retire, retired athletes often struggle to adapt to life after sport when it comes to keeping in shape.  Jonathan joked about being embarrassed about how much conditioning he’d lost since his career was cruelly cut short by injury.

We all know that clearly he knows how to train.  He was a professional athlete for 15 years.  I would also hazard a guess that he probably knows what type of food to eat and I bet he’s accustomed to the occasional ice bath, so what happened?  What did Jonathan and most other athletes lose when he ceased to be a professional AFL footy player?

He lost his purpose.  He lost his why!

When your why isn’t strong enough to motivate you to do what you know you ought to be doing,  you lose your way and that’s what happens to most professional athletes.  They no longer have a Gold Medal, or a Grand Final win to strive for.  But that doesn’t mean that it’s all downhill post their career.  There are plenty of other Grand Finals and Gold Medals to strive for, they just have to find what ticks their box?

A personal trainer that I used to work with and former AFL footy player with Hawthorn, Lance Picioane established Love Me Love You, a support pathway that is changing the stigma associated with mental illness, through awareness and acceptance to empower youths to Get Back to School, Back to Sport, Back to Life!

For me, my 2 kids are my gold medals.  What’s yours? The answer is pretty simple for all former professional athletes. Find your next gold medal challenge or grand final win.  It doesn’t have to be to establish a great challenge like Lance’s, it can be something as simple as remaining fit and healthy for your kids. Find your why and then think like an athlete to go get it!!!