But a powerful need to succeed can be driven by a fear of failure or constantly comparing yourself to others (or a past version of yourself). The more successful you become in each step of your goal-driven journey, the more afraid of failure you can become. As a result, you may find yourself compromising your values - and your mental and physical health. Being too driven may be doing more harm than good.
Being intrinsically motivated is required in any successful individual. To work hard and relentlessly pursue a goal with determination is a great quality.
Although drive can be a great thing (when you use it in the right ways), it can also lead to a single-focused mindset. When you are too driven, it can be difficult to switch "off" which can make it difficult to respect your health and well-being. While it's good to be disciplined and focused, being perfectionistic and self-critical may be putting your personal health and well-being at risk.
A strict set of standards that you strive to meet for your constant drive to improve can lead to a dissatisfaction when you fail to meet your high expectations and goals. As a result, this adds fuel to the fire and perpetuates a stronger drive toward perfection and control. It can be difficult for the highly driven athlete to accept suggestions or advice from well-meaning professionals - keeping you in a cycle of self-sabotage.
There's nothing wrong with being motivated, driven and dedicated. But when a level of perfectionism shows up in your eating habits and exercise regime or leaves you little time to rest and relax, being too driven can do more harm than good.
If you have recently found yourself biting off a bit more than you can chew or putting your work or athletic goals before all else in your life, it's time to take a step back and reassess.
For more inspiration, education and motivation, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.
Being intrinsically motivated is required in any successful individual. To work hard and relentlessly pursue a goal with determination is a great quality.
Although drive can be a great thing (when you use it in the right ways), it can also lead to a single-focused mindset. When you are too driven, it can be difficult to switch "off" which can make it difficult to respect your health and well-being. While it's good to be disciplined and focused, being perfectionistic and self-critical may be putting your personal health and well-being at risk.
A strict set of standards that you strive to meet for your constant drive to improve can lead to a dissatisfaction when you fail to meet your high expectations and goals. As a result, this adds fuel to the fire and perpetuates a stronger drive toward perfection and control. It can be difficult for the highly driven athlete to accept suggestions or advice from well-meaning professionals - keeping you in a cycle of self-sabotage.
There's nothing wrong with being motivated, driven and dedicated. But when a level of perfectionism shows up in your eating habits and exercise regime or leaves you little time to rest and relax, being too driven can do more harm than good.
If you have recently found yourself biting off a bit more than you can chew or putting your work or athletic goals before all else in your life, it's time to take a step back and reassess.
- What goals are you chasing?
- Why are these goals important to you?
- What are you willing to do to reach those goals?
- What are you not willing to do to reach those goals?
For more inspiration, education and motivation, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.
Speaking of being too driven.....
Prior to making changes in the diet, mental skills or training, it’s critical that you unlearn any previous disordered eating behaviors that have been learned from diet culture, recognize the warning signs of an obsession with healthy eating and learn how to develop a more positive body image.
- How can you improve confidence in your abilities if your self-worth is tied to your body size?
- How can you fuel for your workouts if your diet is rigid and inflexible?
- How can you expect your body to perform on event day if you constantly overexercise and underfuel?
With my new 6-series Whole Athlete course, you can understand any distorted views that you’ve developed with food and your body (some of which may be unintentional), while learning how to replace unhealthy behaviors with new ways of thinking. By doing so, you can elevate your performance, optimize your health and protect your well being.
The Whole Athlete course:
Lesson 1: Diet culture
Lesson 2: An unhealthy obsession
Lesson 3: Race weight
Lesson 4: Developing a healthy body image
Lesson 5: Developing a healthy relationship with food
Lesson 6: Thank you body
Once you understand why you think how you think about food, health and your body, you can fix the distorted views that you've developed with food and your body.
Learn more HERE.
GET STARTED NOW
(check out the FREE intro to see if this course is right for you)
The Whole Athlete course:
Lesson 1: Diet culture
Lesson 2: An unhealthy obsession
Lesson 3: Race weight
Lesson 4: Developing a healthy body image
Lesson 5: Developing a healthy relationship with food
Lesson 6: Thank you body
Once you understand why you think how you think about food, health and your body, you can fix the distorted views that you've developed with food and your body.
Learn more HERE.
GET STARTED NOW
(check out the FREE intro to see if this course is right for you)