At the latest IOP team meeting, we discussed the term ‘potential’ attempting to come to grips with what it means for our athletes, clients, and sport in general. It was identified that it can be perceived as both a positive and negative concept. Positive being that it instils confidence and motivation in the individual that will increase their drive to achieve the potential. Negatively it can be perceived as an unachievable goal, an outcome goal, of which the pressure is too high to focus and be present and aware of the process goals to achieve the outcome goal. However, positive and negative connotation may be determined by the source telling them they have the potential and what comes after, for example, if they add a negative at the end of the sentence (I.e. you have the potential, BUT...); whether or not they feel they have control over reaching their potential, for example seeing potential as something you either have or don’t have. An interesting point was made about how the athlete will ever know they have reached their potential and what will they measure it on (intrinsic- feeling they have performed to their best ability or extrinsic rewards – winning a medal)? Also the feeling of wanting to reach potential versus having to reach it as that is what others expect, seeing as the athlete has the potential in the first place. Wanting implying a desire, having implying pressure. It’s also important to note how potential is defined and portrayed, either by subjective norms and language or the individual athlete.
Questions to pose for athletes – Does potential mean…??
Expectation
Excellence
Perfection
Reaching peak performance
Ability
The athlete’s association with the word or concept will ultimately determine whether they ever reach anywhere near their best. With some the more they focus on their potential the further they will go in the opposite direction which will only lead to a sense of disappointment and possible burnout and failure. Essentially, ‘potential’ is just a concept, as success and failure are concepts. Therefore, it’s each individual’s perception and meaning which gives ‘potential’ life and the power to be motivating or discouraging, positive or negative.
