Ego vs Opportunity: What drives an athlete to succeed?

With the Paris 2024 Olympics coming up, we decided to dive into the two mindsets of an athlete; the ego and the opportunity

Sports Psychology, in my opinion, is an area that should be given more attention. We see so often athletes with great potential commit self sabotage due to their attitude.

I’ve spent almost 20 years working with athletes and have been fascinated by the different mindsets and drives. There has been a clear pattern to me on those who end up going far in their craft. Some athletes were driven strongly by their emotions, so much so that they would crumble under the pressure of losing. Others, on the other hand, would continue to pick themselves up, learn and adapt to the situation.

My knowledge of Sports Psychology is limited and I do not claim to be an expert in the field. However, my own personal investigation into the topic lead me to discover that there are two types of athletes; those who are driven by their ego and those who are driven by the opportunity.

The Ego-driven athlete

As the name suggests, an ego-driven athlete is one who is concerned about preserving their identity of being great at their sport. Those that would be considered gifted in their sport at an early age may be susceptible to grow up with an ego-driven mindset. This is because they have grown up with those around them reinforcing how good they are and how talented they are. As a result, they fear losing this identity. They go on to fear and avoid challenges where they may fail.

It is often said that the best way of learning is by trial and error; performing a task, making mistakes, and then learning from those mistakes. This is the recipe for growth. If one avoids challenges, they will hinder their ability to grow.

At times, the ego-driven athlete may show a lack of care for the game or competition. This may be because they are trying to preserve their image by losing on their terms. That is, they lost because they didn’t try, instead of letting people believe they lost when they gave it their best.

Opportunity-driven athletes

An opportunity-driven athlete, on the other hand, is one who seeks out challenges that will help them grow and learn more about their desired sport. They are often driven by their love for the sport and desire for personal growth, as opposed to social status and reputation. These are the ones who have suffered losses, gone back to the drawing board, figured out what went wrong, and then tried again. The opportunity-driven athlete has gained the skill to learn and adapt.

Opportunity-driven athletes are focussed on their goal of being better at their craft. Their is a great quote by Eric Thomas that goes “Winners focus on winners, losers focus on winners”. The opportunity-driven athlete is focussed on winning by being the best they can be. They understand that loss is a part of sport. Yes, they still feel the pain of a loss and they still can feel an impact on their identity/ego, but they don’t let this drive them to stop or quit. They pick themselves back up, and try again.

Conclusion

I think this is a very important concept for parents and anyone associated with sporting clubs to understand. By understanding what is driving each athlete, we may understand their behaviours better and learn how to change their mindset to become driven by opportunity of growth instead of being driven by their need to preserve an identity they have created for themselves.

Our articles are not designed to replace medical advice. If you have an injury or health concern, we recommend seeing a qualified health professional.