There is an ingredient in sports than can make or break a competitive athlete. With it, an underdog can overcome what seem to be insurmountable odds. Without it, even the best of the best can fall to another with less talent or experience.

For many athletes attempting to maximize their athletic abilities, skill acquisition seems to be a much easier proposition than having the motivation and resiliency needed to succeed.  In simpler terms, it seems much easier for an athlete to learn a sport skill than it does to be motivated everyday, as well as successfully deal with frustration and adversity.  Mental toughness, while sometimes overlooked, is perhaps the most important sport psychology skill an athlete can develop in order to reach athletic greatness 

Athletes with passion and purpose literally love being engaged in all aspects of their training.  Of course, they may complain under the hot sun of a 2-a-day football workout, but in the big picture they appreciate all the hard work that goes into excelling in their sport.  To be clear – having passion and purpose does not imply an athlete will love every moment of training, but instead suggests that he has the heart and motivation to push through the tough times.

When athletes do not have passion and purpose, their “holes in their game” tend to show through during tough times.  Take for example when an athlete is playing well – everything is great and the athlete seems to play effortlessly.  But what happens when a slump occurs? Without passion and purpose, the typical response is to give in to the pressure and stress, and/or begin to point fingers away from oneself and onto just about anything else (i.e. the coach, referee, other team, weather, etc).

When athletes have passion and purpose, they quickly move through tough times and stay hungry for the next day.  Their resiliency is seemingly hard-wired into their DNA, and they understand and accept that they will take their lumps along their way to greatness.  Stress and failure are actually accounted for in the passionate athletes mind, and therefore quickly (and successfully) dealt with efficiently.

Passion is the fuel that inspires and drives people toward specific goals, no matter how unlikely or difficult they might be. It inspires loyalty, teamwork, hard work, and, eventually, success. 

Take the free #PassionTest to discover your top passions: http://bit.ly/MyPassionTest