CHAPTER 16

The Motivational Dip

When I dip, you dip, we dip

Ever felt like quitting?

This is the Motivational Dip

Roller coaster thing

Da Dip

Most common scenario for athletes

Excitement, followed by stagnation, then…

Seth Godin calls it the “long slog”

Da Dip

The dip can really be your friend

If there were no dip, everybody would be good

How do I get out of Da Dip?

Do not just “buckle down”

Lean into it and push through it

See your final goal

My Peaks and Valleys Speech

The Cul-de-Sac

French for “dead end”

“a situation where you work and you work and you work and nothing much changes. It doesn’t get a lot better, it doesn’t get a lot worse. It just is.” Pg 19 Godin cited in pg 139.

What causes the cul-de-sac?

Burn-out, being spread too thin

Why would being spread too thin result it stagnation

Maybe focus on one sport, skill, ect…

The Cliff

The Cliff

Very rare, especially in sports

Immediate success, but then a sudden crash

Life example: smoking cigarettes

Sports example:

The Cliff

Video

Probability

“An athlete will follow the Dip or the Cul-de-Sac 99.99% of the time” pg 140

If it is worth doing, there is probably a Dip

Read pg 141 – the first two, small paragraphs

“Those who make it through the Dip are the ones who invest the most time, energy, and effort to power through the Dip.”

It is easier to quit than keep going

The Dip is where success happens

Quitting while you are in the Dip is easy

Short-term pain overwhelms long-term goals

Keep long-term goals and benefits in mind – college

Keep track of your progress with logs or stats

Questions to answer before quitting

#1 – Am I Panicking?

#2 – Who Am I Trying to Influence?

#3 – What Sort of Measurable Progress Am I Making?

How do you know when to quit?

Decide before you start, when you are going to quit

“not leaving until I make 50 threes”

“not quitting until I run a 5 minute mile”

Do not base your decision to quit on present factors: weather, soreness, tired, craby

If you really want to quit

If you are a Cul-de-Sac or hit the Cliff

If you have hate it your whole life and you are just doing it for external factors