Today I was going through some workbooks from my tennis playing days and came across these 20 Characteristics of a Champion. I remember reading through these characteristics each day as motivation and inspiration. I think they can relate to general life as much as sporting life, so wanted to share them. I don’t know where they came from, however if you know the author, please let me know. In the second set, I have adapted the characteristics for general life.
Characteristics of a (Sporting) Champion
The 20 Characteristics of a (Sporting) Champion are –
- Become a student of your sport; read and learn as much as possible.
- When asked to try new things, apply yourself fully.
- Communicate with your coach, especially if troubled by a decision/direction.
- Trust your coach.
- Learn from mistakes and problems to acquire positive rewards in the future.
- Discipline yourself so that you can train by yourself when necessary (given adequate directions by your coach).
- Recognise that monitoring your weight (gain or loss) is important.
- Always keep a diary of your training: venues, session details, times, conditions, reactions etc.
- Be honest with yourself and your coach.
- Win, lose or draw, look for reasons rather than excuses.
- Plan for everything to go wrong. Do not get upset if things don’t go according to plan; have an alternate plan to implement.
- Don’t waste energy on issues over which you have no control.
- Enjoy training and competition; keep striving for better performances.
- Be prepared: always arrive with all necessary equipment in working order.
- Set personal goals, challenging yourself further when they are achieved.
- Don’t miss training (even if the alternative is attractive).
- Plan your competition schedule in detail, in advance.
- Focus on the things you can control.
- When tired in a session, concentrate on your technique.
- Try to learn at least one thing from every competition.
Characteristics of a Champion in Life
The 20 Characteristics of a Champion in Life (the changes I made are in italics) are –
- Become a student of life; read and learn as much as possible.
- When asked to try new things, apply yourself fully.
- Communicate with your family, friends and coach, especially if troubled by a decision/direction.
- Trust your family, friends and coach.
- Learn from mistakes and problems to acquire positive rewards in the future.
- Discipline yourself so that you can train by yourself when necessary (given adequate directions by your coach).
- Recognise that monitoring your weight (gain or loss) is important.
- Always keep a diary of your dreams, goals, plans, intentions and other important information (i.e. sleep and feelings).
- Be honest with yourself and your family, friends and coach.
- Win, lose or draw, look for reasons rather than excuses.
- Plan for everything to go wrong. Do not get upset if things don’t go according to plan; have an alternate plan to implement.
- Don’t waste energy on issues over which you have no control.
- Enjoy life and work: keep striving for better performances.
- Be prepared: always arrive with all necessary equipment in working order.
- Set personal goals, challenging yourself further when they are achieved.
- Don’t miss showing up (even if the alternative is attractive).
- Plan your life in detail, in advance.
- Focus on the things you can control.
- When tired in life, concentrate on the present moment.
- Try to learn at least one thing from every experience.
Over to You…
What do you think – are there any characteristics you would add? Remember – No one thing will raise your level of performance. It is the little things, performed with excellence and done consistently, which will make the ultimate difference!
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