Miriam Kohlhaas: Stay Hungry, Mr. Tom Brady!

Half the world is watching as the New England Patriots face the Atlanta Falcons in the final of the world's biggest sports event. And one player has the chance to win his 5th ring - Tom Brady, quarterback of the Patriots (Super Bowl winner of the seasons 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014). Someone from whom we can all learn a lot. On the subject: How can one stay highly motivated for many years and never become complacent despite great and recurring successes? In the year 2000, Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth of seven rounds at the 199th spot and initially was the fourth quarterback for the Patriots. Since the 2001 season - his first Super Bowl victory - he has consistently made it to the playoffs, the final round of the championship, with his team each year. He has managed to win it four times to date. On Sunday (from 11:15 p.m. live on Sat1 and ProSieben Maxx as well as ran.de), he will once again be in the Super Bowl with his team. From a sport psychological perspective, as someone active in American football, I ask the following questions: How has this Tom Brady managed to maintain this insane level for over 16 years? What drives him? What is his secret? Why and how has he managed - especially after setbacks - to come back better than ever? He partly provides the answer himself - the minutes 14 to 22 are revealing: https://youtu.be/Tr2B9RaHJBc?t=13m57s Pure Self-Confidence After Brady arrived at the Patriots in a really bad position as the 4th quarterback, he introduced himself to the coaching staff at that time with the words that he was "the best decision the club has ever made." A bold statement, considering his draft position. However, when he got the chance to start as a quarterback in 2001 due to an injury to the then 1st quarterback Drew Bledsoe, he told one of his teammates that he would never give up that position from now on. He turned out to be right. In my applied work, I have seen many players who had a high opinion of themselves and their way of playing, but never really followed through on those statements. Tom Brady, on the other hand, has fulfilled all the promises he made to himself and others back then. Motivation and Volition To learn from his case, it is worth focusing on aspects such as motivation and volition (will) or intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It seems that Brady is driven by a high intrinsic process motivation, as well as an internal self-concept. Simply put, he tackles his tasks for their own sake - because he enjoys them (e.g. J. and H. Heckhausen, 2010). Successful athletes are able to set clear and pursue goals. These goals are meant to be realistic, but also very challenging (e.g. Gabler 1995). These athletes share an internal self-concept where the achievement motive is strongly pronounced. It seems, as in Brady's case, that these athletes have internalized an ideal image as a guideline for their actions. Not just watching the Super Bowl - absorb it! So let's use the Super Bowl to refuel our inspiration. Because what exceptional talents like Brady demonstrate, we can also use for our own performance optimization. Therefore, if you want to work on yourself a bit, you could ask yourself the following guiding question on Super Bowl night, which I have provided with a few hints: Do you remember the feeling when you were last truly hungry for sporting success?

• Find (again) that fire that drives you and keeps you up at night!
• Don't let yourself be limited by other people or your own fears and thoughts.
• Work hard, dream big, become what you have always wanted to be!

In this sense - Stay hungry Mr. Brady! And all you fantastic athletes out there, stay hungry too! For more information about Miriam Kohlhaas, please visit:https://www.deutsches-rednerlexikon.de/redner/miriam-kohlhaas.html