When gifted athletes fall from grace

When athletes get bad press, it’s good news. When an athlete’s problems come to the attention of the press, the damage has already been done. The athlete and team position themselves to adopt a defensive posture. This is similar to looking at the tip of the iceberg. You are only seeing 10% of the problem without realizing that the other 90% is below the surface.

Ryan Mallett, who was recently drafted to play for the Patriots, Ryan Leaf, the San Diego Chargers and Darnell Dodson, from the University of Southern Mississippi, put their sports careers at risk. Sabotage. Each of these men has a chance to change things. They were handed an opportunity based on their raw athletic talent. Unfortunately, staying the course becomes treacherous when total commitment to the vision is lacking.

A discrepancy arose when the demands of college and professional sports collided with their perceived reality. Each of these men, as well as many similarly situated athletes before them, had a missing link. As a result, they were able to grab the bronze ring, but they were unable to hold it. The opportunity slipped out of their hands. However, with the right strength, they can move forward, learn from the past, and turn things around. Even though the brass ring slipped through her fingers once, it doesn’t mean all is lost.

Will Mallett and Dodson live up to their dreams, following Leaf’s path? Cognitive dissonance contributed to each of these athletes’ challenges, their reality colliding with team expectations causing tension. Eventually, the tension had to be relieved somehow. When players are under a lot of pressure, they revert to their previous behaviors, both on and off the pitch.

1. Incongruence between your goals and personal beliefs or values. When beliefs or values ​​contradict an objective it leads to sabotage. Sometimes those things are under the surface, hidden from the individual, leading to a vicious cycle of repeated gains and losses.

2. Control issues get in the way. Most likely, they didn’t think they needed to change anything. Assistance and resources were available to them. Their ego, however, prevented them from taking advantage of the support. Performance success and personal growth are intertwined. They go hand in hand.

3. Not being willing to take personal responsibility. The posture they adopted growing up did not apply to their current reality. At some point it becomes necessary to stop pointing fingers and shifting blame. Although his career had progressed, his thinking was still stagnant, which justified his point of view.

Each of these talented athletes knew where they were and had a vision of where they wanted to be. Unfortunately, they were unable to bridge the gap. Other athletes in similar situations vowed to do whatever it took to bridge the gap because they were deeply connected to their dreams. Mallett, Leaf, and Dodson, however, were only interested.

Ascending to professional status demands a change. There is no place for drugs, anger issues, or theft among elite athletes. These men, however, were unable to adapt to changing demands as they climbed the ladder of success.

Trying to play at that level without changing who you are for what you need to become is a dangerous combination. It’s like a business that grows too fast without the infrastructure in place, eventually imploding and collapsing.

Change occurs when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the perceived pain of initiating the change.

As you expand your physical capabilities and rise through the ranks, your identity has to adapt as well.

Change is necessary to sustain success. The process of stretching beyond your comfort zone and continuing to take steps toward your vision are necessary components of success. To resist change is to resist success.

Success has several layers. For most people it takes a rude awakening, losing something precious, to get motivated. It is not easy to look in the mirror and see the truth. A deep desire not to experience a similar situation again is the ideal motivator for change. If they get to that point, not everyone does, Mallett, Leaf and Dodson will commit to their vision and do not only what is convenient but what is necessary to succeed. They know how to do it on the court and the field. That driving force is transferable. It is possible once they make the commitment.

Activity: What do you need to change as you move up the ranks? Most athletes wait until they’ve moved to the next level to make those changes. Consider what you could start doing differently now to speed up the process. Explore your levels of commitment, self-care, and confidence. Pick one or two action steps that you could start now as if you were already at the next level.

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