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Strive for Drive

Joseph Garcia

SFSU ID: 923051893

Professor Nicole D. Bolter

7/3/2023

Word Count: 992

Before the Covid-19 pandemic staggered the country, I competed in powerlifting. I was

extremely consistent both mentally and physically by exercising five days a week while looking

forward to the next day of exercising. After the pandemic, my mental drive dropped to a

devastating low as I no longer looked forward to my next exercise. During this time, I would cut

corners on my current exercises because I wanted them to be over so I could do something other

than exercising. My physical activity lifestyle requires a major change. I lack motivational drive

before and during physical fitness such as weightlifting and cardio. I must dramatically change

my mindset to reflect an increase in motivational drive and self-arousal to achieve a consistent

schedule of exercising which will lead to a healthier and better-looking body! I will achieve this

goal of increased motivational drive in physical activity by creating a goal guideline checklist

that would include both short- and long-term goals to steadily maintain motivation as stated by

Daniel Gould, “…both short- and long-range goals are needed to maintain motivation”. (Gould,

2015)

An action plan that will carry out my “strive for drive” will be a goal setting guideline checklist

that will have a few short-term goals and will eventually achieve the long-term goal. This guide

will be geared towards a daily checklist format where I will be repeatedly using the guide each

workout day which will be four to five times a week. The short-term goals will be as follows in

order: look at my to-do list for the day and determine a two-hour window that I can begin my

workout; sit down and imagine how good I will feel and look after the workout; have some

caffeine while listening to a motivational speech; turn my phone on “Do not disturb” mode so I

am not interrupted; and begin my workout. I will repeat this daily guideline checklist to prime

my mind, body, and spirit before my exercises which will allow me to complete my ultimate goal

of obtaining the motivational drive that will fuel my workout routines.

Embedded in the workout routine are exercises not just for the body but for the mind as well as

they will activate certain characteristics. The second step, which includes sitting down and

imagining myself doing the task, is using the psychological skill of “imagery” and can be

combined with a breathing technique which is noted by Sheldon Hanton, Stephen Mellalieu, and

Jean M. Williams in saying “Breathing properly is relaxing and facilitates performance…by

increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood and carrying more energy to the muscles.”

(Sheldon Hanton, 2015) Within step three, I will have some caffeine to physically prepare myself

for the upcoming exercise routine and pair that with a motivational speech/song that can

represent a form of “self-talk”. Utilizing self-talk is extremely beneficial because it gives me a

chance to take positive and negative occurrences into account before, during, and after an event.

This psychological skill grants me understanding and learning as it reasserts my ability to

accomplish any feat through analysis. By using self-talk, athletes can avoid falling into constant

failure, doubt, and a low amount of motivational drive.

When preparing for competitions or mentally tough exercises, professional athletes have coping

strategies that allow them to become hyper focused and thrive under pressure. This is mentioned

by Gould, D., Eklund, R. C., and Jackson, S. A. when referring to how Olympic wrestlers cope

before big debuts and events in saying “Coping strategies often included using positive thinking;

a narrow, specific focus of attention; and changing their environment.” (Williams V. K., 2015) In

my pre-workout guideline checklist, step four best represents this research as I will turn my

phone on “Do not disturb” mode. Today’s era is run by electronics with cell phones being the

greatest resource and distraction at the same time. I want carryout this step in my checklist

because I am setting up my environment to produce this greatest amount of concentration and

focus so I may produce optimal results and motivational drive.

There is no doubt that athletes have been using self-talk and imagery in their training routines

because they are tremendously great tools to help these players on and off the field. Self-talk is

an amazing analysis tool that athletes from all levels use, including Olympic level competitors.

Authors Fletcher, D. and Sarkar, M. reveal this truth in saying “elite performers links peak

performance with being creative, engaging in self-reflection, developing perspective, and having

balance in one’s life.” (Fletcher, 2012) Self-talk can be used as a primary form of reflection on

one’s actions or decisions from athletes to students as we all struggle with obstacles in life and

sport. Imagery is a powerful tool as well because one can visualize an event that has occurred

and replicate it in their mind. At this point, one can note good or bad choices that were made and

the feelings/emotions that occurred at the same time. I would be able to use imagery as a pre-

workout skill to visualize myself lifting the desired amount of weight, then perform the lift with

little to no anxiety or doubt. One of the fantastic qualities that both the skills of self-talk and

imagery have is the fact that they can be used before, during, and after events such as practice,

games, and off-season training.

In order to keep track of my progress as I strive to complete my daily guideline checklist four to

five times a week, I will fill out a workout journal after each daily workout. This journal will not

only have the exercises, repetitions, and sets I completed, but it will also have a couple post-

workout questions such as “Did you complete the pre-workout guideline checklist?”, “Did you

feel you had the necessary amount of motivational drive throughout the workout?” At the end of

each week, I will open my workout journal to review each day to see if each workout was looked

forward to, attainable, and completed as well as the post-workout questions. In comparison to a

finding made by Robert S. Weinberg and Jean M. Williams, “The evaluation should focus on the

players’ assessment of the value of the program from both a psychological and performance
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perspective”, checking my journal at the end of the week is a clear way to identify evidence and

use self-talk to reflect on how each day went. (Williams R. S., 2015) This will verify if I am still

completing my ultimate goal of obtaining the motivational drive that will fuel my workout

routines.
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References

Fletcher, D. &. (2012). A grounded theory of psychological resilience in Olympic . In D. &.

Fletcher, Psychology of Sport & Exercise (pp. 669–678).

Gould, D. (2015). Goal Setting for Peak Performance. In J. M. Williams, Applied sport

psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th ed.) (pp. 188-206). New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Sheldon Hanton, S. M. (2015). Understanding and Managing Stress . In J. M. Williams, Applied

sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th ed.) (pp. 207-239). New

York: McGraw-Hill.

Williams, R. S. (2015). Integrating and Implementing a Psychological Skills Training Program .

In J. M. Williams, Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (7th

ed.) (pp. 329-358). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Williams, V. K. (2015). Psychological Characteristics of Peak Performance. In V. K. Williams,

Psychological Characteristics of Peak Performance (pp. 159-179). New York: McGraw-

Hill.