The difference between elite athletes and the ‘almost’ greats is their internal drive to overcome adversity a new study has discovered.
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The research found elite athletes approached training with a “never satisfied” attitude, whereas ‘almosts’ might avoid challenging training exercises, while following an injury or a failure to perform, high performers were determined to get back to their sports, stronger than ever. Low achievers, on the other hand, often expressed surprise at their failures, telling how they lost enthusiasm after such incidents.
Despite these differences in the athletes’ attitudes, there was surprisingly little variation in the nature or number of the challenges themselves. All had roughly comparable traumatic incidents during their careers. More than the challenges themselves, the differences came down to how the athletes reacted to these obstacles and the champions’ positive, “learn from it” attitudes.