The Value and Power of Responsibility
As athletes, we are in a unique position. We play in front of large crowds and screaming fans, while trying to perform to the best of our ability. When we win the game, everyone cheers and shouts praises. There’s no need to get critical about specific performances; the major goal has been accomplished!
Sometimes We Lose
On the other side, we must face the inevitable, for everyone will lose sometime in his of her life. When we fall short and lose the game or match and criticism starts to emerge, we must begin the difficult task of looking at why we or the team lost.
Under these circumstances, some athletes might look at their teammates and blame them for losing the game or not doing their part to help out. Even though such accusations might be true in some instances, there’s not much value in outward accusations when a loss allows the opportunity for everyone on the team to look inwardly and assess how they might perform better next time, both personally and as teammates.
In fact, some athletes even report that the time when they became their best was when they lost a few games and had to look inward to find out why they were losing — look at how the loss to the Falcons in the NFC divisional playoffs is fueling the Seattle Seahawks this off-season! Russell Wilson is the first to arrive at the Seahawks facility and the last to leave. He is taking responsibility for his actions and setting a tone for what it takes to achieve success.
Taking Responsibility: The Importance of Self-Reflection
Self-reflection has tremendous power and can change your trajectory as an athlete, catapulting you to the top of your field.
However, we must go about this process in a smart and intelligent way. Responsibility requires an honest and open assessment of ourselves, looking at our actions, thoughts, and patterns.
Looking at our actions, thoughts, and patterns, and how we cope with defeat are the main components of building this responsibility.
Ultimately, the crucial component of responsibility is a willingness to accept control over our actions and an intention toward improvement.
Responsibility Characteristics
So what exactly does responsibility look like?
Characteristics of responsible people include: recognizing personal errors and taking corrective steps to address them, possessing self respect, having sadness and remorse for difficult situations, engaging others to help understand and fix the problem, and remaining open and receptive to new ideas and ways of doing things.
Now, responsibility does not mean we ought to blame ourselves every time our team loses. There are times when we do everything right and results don’t follow. But, we must always be objective in our reflection, trusting ourselves and the insights of mentors and teammates to discover the reasons behind sub-optimal performance.
If we take responsibility of our actions and refuse to blame others after every loss, we will begin to see growth in ourselves and better performance will follow.
Follow the Pros
Taking responsibility is one of the ways in which many of the top athletes of our time have become great and stayed on top. So why not do the same? When we are in front of the screaming crowds, our preparation will be the ultimate factor behind success. We train our muscles to respond well in competition. We should train our mind as well, taking responsibility for our actions when things aren’t going well and using self-reflection to springboard us back to optimal performance.
