As athletes, it’s in our nature to over-analyze our actions and performances. But sometimes the pressure we put on ourselves to perform well can cause us to compromise our athletic integrity. Have you ever perceived that you’ve failed during a WOD and caught yourself searching for an excuse for your performance rather than accept the outcome?
It’s easy to make excuses when things don’t go the way we were expecting. In actuality, it’s harder to make excuses; making excuses takes more energy than actually doing the work; excuse-making can become contagious.
What if you didn’t perform well during a real competition—would you make excuses for your performance? Because we never do the same workout twice, each workout is a lot like that competition—meaning, you only get one shot to give it your best.
I’ll admit; I’ve made excuses for a workout that didn’t go my way. Instead of saying, “I had a bad workout but I’ll do better next time,” I chose to make an excuse rather than accept the fact that I didn’t give IT my best shot, my all.
Excuses come from the disappointment we feel in our performance—we know and understand we could have done better. We simply need to solidify our thinking in the right direction. And that direction is to not allow ourselves the option of excuses.
The only thing that matters is the true expression of our athletic ability. How we position ourselves mentally determines how we will progress as athletes. Try not to hide behind excuses. Accept the results of your training without giving yourself an out, and you’ll be on your way to being a responsible athlete.
Do you believe that making excuses for a bad performance is acceptable?