Motivation in sports and exercise

Running head : CHANGING THE UNMOTIVATED TO THE MOTIVATED

Changing the unmotivated to the motivated

Mental exercises as motivation for sports and exercise

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University

23 July 2010

Changing the unmotivated to the motivated

Mental exercises as motivation for sports and exercise

Kara Goucher , bronze medalist of the 2006 World Championship in Athens (3000 m ) and 2007 World Championship in Osaka (10 ,000 m , has struggled for a long time with an internal demon- her lack of self-confidence (Barcott , 2010 . Several times in her life , she has lost her motivation to

join contests and win , because she has felt that she is never good enough to compete with the best (Barcott , 2010 ,

.62 . In an interview Goucher revealed her view of herself : Everyone has their weakness Mine is confidence . It 's something I 've struggled with for years (Barcott , 2010 ,

.62 . Several references showed that motivation is critical to engaging in sports and exercise (Barcott , 2010 Crust 2006 . Perceptions of oneself , according to a study of exercising females , also impact motivation (Sabiston et . al , 2005 . Even athletes like Goucher are also demotivated , although her case illustrated that winning her mental game helped her win her actual games (Barcott , 2010 Crust , 2006 . Mastering the mental game serves as positive reinforcement and links with sound motivation theories (Barcott , 2010 Crust , 2006 Peak Performance , 2007 Sabiston et al , 2005 Weinberg Gould , 2007 This paper argues that sports psychologists should use the mental game in influencing athletes ' motivation , because it can be an...