January 20, 2023 | Tagged Motivation
All about Sports Inspiration
“Instead of letting your hardships and failures discourage you, let them inspire you.”
Inspiration has some big research promises. This word inspiration offers significant benefits: increased motivation, increased effort in training, improved confidence, greater focus, deeper trust, greater passion, and a whole host of other amazing benefits. Here’s the catch, inspiration cannot be willed into being, and trying can diminish its possibilities. It’s elusive but still worth learning more about.
What is inspiration? Even though research has discovered a virtual treasure trove of awesome benefits, inspiration has been understudied mainly because it can’t be controlled or coerced. Inspiration means to fill someone with the urge or ability to do something.
Inspiration vs. Motivation: Unlike motivation, inspiration means you awaken into a new way of thinking that opens greater doors of possibility and capability you didn’t have before. Inspiration leads to action. A coach may motivate their team who may or may not transcend, but a coach who inspires their team alters the lives and destiny of their players.
History of Inspiration: The word inspire literally means to breathe life into. It was a biblical word to describe God creating Adam from the dust of the earth and breathing life into him. It’s come to mean a transition from sleep to awakened, from apathy to passion, from status quo to transcendent, from death to life.
Benefits of Inspiration in Sports:
Cognitive benefits include: increased motivation, confidence, focus, awareness of potential, and trust in the coach.
Affective benefits include: increased happiness, excitement for the sport, pride in the team, passion to improve, and decreased frustration.
Behavioral changes reveal: increased dedication, effort, improved performance, and willingness to take on more challenging tasks.
What are the core aspects of inspiration? Taken from psychologists Thrash and Elliot, these three components are core to inspiration.
1. Evocation—Besides this being a really cool word, evocation means to evoke or to trigger something wholly unexpected and new. Those who feel inspired reported this was something outside themselves that led to this new understanding or awakening.
2. Transcendence—Inspiration supplies the ability to see something you have never seen before. It raises us to new possibilities and capabilities.
3. Approach motivation—This is a way to say that inspiration always leads to action. We are inspired by something or someone that leads to being inspired to do something.
About NBC Basketball
NBC Basketball started in 1971 with the dream of helping athletes become excellent on and off the court. NBC Basketball is committed to the total athlete: relationally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. NBC Basketball offers camps, travel teams, academies, clinics, and online mental performance training. Find out more about NBC Basketball at www.nbccamps.com/basketball