| "O ften I hear from athletes or parents of athletes | | | | mistakes, engage in negative self-talk, are focused on |
| who worry about their or their child's sport | | | | results or outcomes, and rarely enjoy playing their |
| performance. Athletes, or parents for that matter, | | | | sport. |
| who demand high levels of performance are rarely | | | | On the flip side of the coin, these athletes have an |
| satisified with incremental levels of performance | | | | incredibly strong work ethic, are highly motivated, |
| achievement because they set the standard of | | | | committed to their goals, and want nothing more |
| acceptable performance extremely high. When the | | | | than to learn and improve. It 's this deeply strong |
| standard is not achieved, they can be very | | | | work ethic and strong motivation that keeps them |
| self-critical. These athletes, or parents of athletes | | | | from seeing the forest through the trees. In fact, |
| have perfectionist traits. | | | | most athletes display at least some ""perfectionistic"" |
| Perfectionistic athletes criticize themselves for making | | | | traits at some point in their athletic careers. I know |
| mistakes, often hold high expectations for | | | | because I was a perfectionist!! |
| themselves, get frustrated easily after making | | | | |