Despite the strange title, this is not a story about cottage cheese…
and no, we at Mentalni Trening haven’t started running an (anti)advertisement for dairy products. This is a story/truth about engagement and commitment, however strange that might sound at first.
In my work so far, I have met many athletes from just as many sports; some are “better,” “more successful,” and some are “worse,” “less successful.” But why are these four categories in quotation marks? Because it is quite difficult for me to categorize the more successful from the less successful in a simple way based solely on their results, ratings, positions, etc.
Why is it so difficult for me? Because I have learned by now that the result is often not an objective measure or indicator. Because points/goals/time/position are not always in direct correlation with how good of an athlete someone is. What does a good athlete even mean?? And what does that have to do with cottage cheese anyway? A lot of questions, and not a single answer yet…
Engagement
I don’t know if you will agree with my view, but I am not looking for that either, because everyone has their own perspective and their own reality. Over the years, I have gained great respect for committed athletes who invest their maximum engagement into their sport. An engagement so grand that they aren’t even sure if what they invested will return to them (not to mention finances).
This is a story about those athletes who get down to training
....without racking their brains with thoughts about guarantees. Also, I have been convinced several times now of a truth that my colleague often mentions:"In sports there is no guarantee, just like in life."No one can guarantee that with a whole lot of effort and training they will achieve success, attain financial security, or make it to the Olympic Games. What is left for such athletes then? Faith. Work. Everything.
It seems to me that this is the kind of athlete who doesn’t look for problems on their path and excuses for unfinished work, but rather looks for ways to progress. The kind of athlete who is primarily internally motivated – by progress, by breaking boundaries, despite everyone and in spite of everything. For these athletes, there are no obstacles, there are no limitations in their heads, only challenges that make them stronger. Sometimes they will get past them, sometimes they will bounce off them, but giving up is not an option for them. “I can’t,” “it’s too hard” are not words found in their vocabulary.
I Have Also Met That Other Group
..which finds a "million" obstacles on its path, the group that wonders why it is so hard to succeed.
Would success even be called success if everyone could do it?!? This is the group that is the diametrical opposite of the first, the group that prompted me to write an article with this strange title. Names in this story are irrelevant, but I also met an athlete whose problem was following the instructions of a nutritional diet plan because he doesn’t like cottage cheese and can’t eat it. And no, the problem isn’t lactose intolerance; it’s simply that he doesn’t find it tasty. This kept bothering me, so I counted the types of cottage cheese in a somewhat larger supermarket; there are exactly 17 of them, and I believe their flavors do differ after all.
There is another example of a female athlete whom I asked what she had been eating for the past month while preparing for the match of her career. “Chicken and rice. And it’s been like that for a month. Yes, I’m sick of it, but what can I do. I eat it and that’s it,” she said. Another recent example is a female athlete who, from exhaustion, abdominal wall pain, and a medication allergy, vomited right in the middle of the court. After the doctor measured her blood pressure, the doctor along with the referee urged her to forfeit the match. She didn’t forfeit it; she won it, of course…
What About Those Who Invest Their All, But Still Get Nothing Back?
It seems to me that such people are guided by personal convictions that their effort and work describe them best. Effort and work tell who they are, that these are their mirror, and they need no other mirror. Cashing in on effort through results is not the reason they train. If the result is missing, their image remains intact.
My job is wonderful because of both the first and the second group of athletes; if one were missing, I wouldn’t know what to strive for, what kind of athletes should be role models. Also, I like to think that in some way my help can also be a small step forward. A step toward changing oneself, a step toward adopting different, more fruitful attitudes. However, even if that doesn’t happen, what remains for me is: Faith, Work, Everything.
