Six Habits of the Athlete Mindset

Serena. Kobe. Biles. What's the X factor that makes great athletes great? According to Ryan Flaherty, Nike senior director of performance and a Nike Performance Council member who trains elite athletes, it's not speed, strength, endurance or genetics. It's the mind.

03. Find your purpose.
You may not know this, but you have a seemingly bottomless pit of motivation that you can tap into at any time—as long as you've identified your "why", a core purpose that lights a fire under you every time you take on a challenge. For elite athletes, the "why" is personal and often emotional. LeBron and Serena, for instance, both say their purpose is to inspire kids who look like them and come from where they come from to achieve greatness. You can start to pinpoint your purpose at any time by identifying what fulfils you or what would make you proud. If you're still at a loss, take your inspiration from the NBA and tennis greats who do it for the next generation and centre your purpose on someone you care about. Focusing on the needs of others can keep you motivated and accountable, and it can even inspire you to work a little harder than you would otherwise.

04. Be gritty.
"Grit" is the combination of passion and persistence that helps someone complete their long-term goals. This fortitude is what every coach searches for in an athlete. The easiest way to assess your grit is to look at your follow-through. Do you finish the tasks you start? Do you remember what the task was in the first place? If you're not sure how to answer those questions, set a small goal that takes you only a couple of days to accomplish (eat a meatless meal three days a week instead of going full vegan, for example). If you accomplish that, try it again and again, maybe adding another day to the week, then another, until the weeks turn into months and maybe even years. Regularly achieving small goals can improve your grit, which can make achieving your bigger goals more of a reality.

05. Get obsessed with the process.
Elite athletes often rely on near-obsessive daily routines to keep their tasks lined up and their goals in sight. In everyday life, creating an effective "process" might be as simple as keeping a rigorous planner. Look at your routine and ask yourself: Does it have consistency (tasks occurring at a regular cadence, so you can find reward from them)? Does it include repetition (tasks that are exactly the same, so you can learn automatically from them)? Does it include an action plan (short-term tasks that ladder up to long-term goals)? Does it emphasise focus (your "why" always being top of mind)? And finally, are you implementing it with tolerance (never punishing yourself for failures)? That last one can help ensure you can stick with your process for the long haul.

06. Own it.
In the simplest sense, "ownership" means taking full responsibility for your own progress, without excuses or blame. It's one of the big lessons that transforms great talents into great athletes, because they've recognised their performance is in their control. As with process, there's an easy breakdown to help make sure you've got this one covered: Are you cultivating responsibility (taking charge of a situation when called for)? Are you doing this with accountability (a willingness to accept all of the consequences, good and bad)? Are you bringing some reliability (ownership that's day-in, day-out)? And are you practising commitment (doing more than what's merely expected)? Truly taking ownership means that you are a genuine leader. You're dependable and deliver beyond what anyone expects of you, which is why mastering ownership won't benefit just you, it also benefits your teammates, family or friends, who know they can count on you at critical moments and always.