6 Ways to be a better Athlete (and a decent Human Being)

A lot of people have different opinions on how to live their life, how to achieve their goals, and some people may even have an opinion on how to look good doing it. Reading all different health and fitness magazines there are also similar guides to being the best athlete you can be. But how many of these opinions encompass becoming a generally nice human being? How many of these so called guides give you the steps to make everybody around you feel good and also becoming a fulfilled human being?

So here are my 6 Ways to become a better Athlete, and also a decent human being along the way.

Work Hard

This goes without saying. There is no point in having ideas of grandeur and setting all of these goals if you aren’t planning on working hard and sacrificing a lot to achieve them. Yes, if you want to become a successful athlete there are a lot of sacrifices that need to be made. Early mornings, late nights and lack of a social life just to name a few. If this is something that you really want, sacrifice some short term pleasures for your long term successes.

Be Humble

There is nothing worse that a good athlete who won’t shut up about how great they are compared to you. But there is also nothing more inspiring to me than an athlete who quietly works their ass off day in and day out to achieve their goals. In a world full of social media and sponsorship ideas, it is very hard to be a successful athlete without posting on the social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. The most successful athletes will post updates about their program and their progressions, but they won’t sit there and tell you how good they are. They will post showing their hard work day in and day out in their efforts to achieve their goals.

Be nice to Everybody

I feel conflicted about putting this one on the list, as I believe it should be a fundamental part of being human. Whether it is saying hello to everybody as you walk in to the room, or spending that little bit extra time with somebody who asks you for some tips and tricks. Being nice shouldn’t be a chore, it should be ingrained in our society. Unfortunately it isn’t. So the next time you have the opportunity to  improve somebodies day, don’t think. just do it (I swear that is a slogan for a really well known brand…)

Don’t expect anything to be given, earn everything

This is one of my favourite sayings, earnt not given. This goes for everything in your life. If you expect good things to happen without putting in the hard work and dedication required to achieve results, you are relying on factors you can’t control. You cannot expect to hit the gym once a week and fluff your way around trying all the different equipment and expect to be able to perform at a high level. You need to be dedicated and have a specific program that allows for progression and allows you to develop your skills and physical attributes. This applies to everything outside of the gym as well, your personal life, work life and even your leisure activities, if you want good things to happen, put in the hard work.

Bring everybody up to your level

I have had multiple encounters with professional athletes over the years, usually as a fan. Most of these encounters have been super positive, with the athletes giving up valuable time to share some of their experiences and knowledge with me. And I couldn’t be ,more grateful for that little snippet of time that they gave me. Even if you are not a professional athlete, giving your experience and knowledge to everybody around you is a sure way of bringing everybody around you up. I know that after meeting with some of these athletes I was filled with a new found motivation to be a better person and role model to the people around me. So if you ever have the opportunity to positively impact anybody around you, whether they are athletes, family members or just friends, make sure you give them a positive and rewarding experience.

Don’t be an Asshole

I think this is pretty self explanatory. We live in a time now where everybody is so in touch with how they are feeling, yet sometimes we are horrible people to each other. Before you do or say anything, take the time to assess how that action or those words will effect that person and their day.