Motivation Matters to Athletes
Buster Douglas lay flat on his back, bleeding from his nose and mouth. As his brain slowly regained its function, he heard someone counting in his face. Five! Six! Seven!
By the count of nine, he regained his composure and steadied his feet.
Then the bell.
Douglas had just been punched in the face by one of the most ferocious hitters the sport of boxing had ever known, Mike Tyson.
Douglas lying semi-conscious on the ground was hardly a surprise. Tyson was 37-0—the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Vegas gave Douglas 42-1 odds of winning. At the moment, with Douglas bloodied and fallen, those odds looked generous. Who knows what would have happened if the bell did not ring, signaling the end of the eighth round and simultaneously saving Douglas from becoming another casualty of Tyson’s vicious right hook?
Two rounds later, Buster Douglas knocked Mike Tyson out and became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. What motivated Douglas to get into the ring with Tyson in the first place? Why did he fight the urge to stay on the mat until the final ten count? What motivated him to ultimately beat the unbeatable champion?
His mom.
Douglas broke down in tears after the fight when asked how he overcame nearly impossible odds to win this fight when no one thought he could. "Because of my mother. God bless her heart."
Twenty-three days before the fight, she passed away. He fought Mike Tyson in her honor.
In 2020, ESPN released a documentary titled The Last Dance detailing the life and basketball career of Michael Jordan. With sports temporarily on hold due to the COVID pandemic, the world found itself captivated by the story of arguably the greatest basketball player who ever lived. (This isn’t meant to spiral into a conversation about who is the greatest of all time—so you can hold your LeBron James arguments for now!)
The 10-part series shined a light on the internal drive of Jordan. What drives someone to be the best—and stay the best—for so long? For Jordan, it was grudges.
In 1987, Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller owned Jordan in the first half of a regular-season game. Miller approached Jordan and said, “You’re Michael Jordan? The guy that walks on water?”
Jordan’s response? “Don’t ever talk trash to Black Jesus.” He came out firing in the second half and scored 37 points to Miller’s 20.
The General Manager of the Bulls spoke often about the defensive prowess of Dan Majerle, one of Jordan’s competitors.
Jordan said, “I knew that Jerry Krause loved Dan Majerle. And just because Krause liked him was enough for me. You think he’s a great defensive player? Okay, fine. I’m gonna show you that he’s not.”
The Bulls went on to destroy Majerle’s team, the Phoenix Suns, in the 1993 NBA Finals. Jordan averaged 41 points a game.
Sometimes, Jordan just made up scenarios to motivate himself.
After LaBradford Smith hung 37 points on Jordan’s Bulls in 1993, Jordan mentioned that Smith put his arm around Jordan after the game and said, “Nice game, Mike.”
Jordan told his teammates before the same two teams played again the following night: “In the first half, I’m gonna have what this kid had in the game.” Jordan scored 36 points in the first two quarters. In The Last Dance, we learned that Smith never put his arm around Jordan after the first game. He never said anything to him. Jordan made the whole thing up.
Proving others wrong fueled his inner drive.
What's Your Motivation?
All athletes are motivated by something. For some, it's petty grudges. For others, like Buster Douglas, it comes from an inspirational source.
The same is true for you.
What drives you as an athlete? What is it for you? What motivates you to continue training day after day, season after season? There are many different motivations that propel us through sport and life—some good and some bad. Which of the following on the list below resonate at your core?
Recognition Money Other Coach Goals
Friendships Pride Winning Records
Revenge Parents Fear of losing Family
Success Anger Accomplishment Fame
It’s worth noting that none of these motivations are necessarily bad or sinful in themselves. They may start as motivations to pursue good things, things part of God's created order like pleasure, money, or success. But when our own sinful heart distorts them, they become ultimate ends in themselves, something they were never intended to be. Unchecked, they risk becoming like a god to us, and we metaphorically bow down to them as the foundation of our “why.” Like it does with everything, our sin nature twists the motivation and makes it “worldly.”
Does Motivation Really Matter?
All of this raises the question: who cares? Does the foundation of our motivation really matter in the grand scheme of life? If we’re playing well and our teams are thriving, should we even be questioning what’s driving our athletic career? Said differently: Does God even care about our motivation?
In short, yes.
What’s driving us at the core of our being is of primary importance to God, who prioritizes the posture of our hearts above all else and cares deeply about what drives that heart. And we can point to God’s Word to show us that He measures success quite differently than the rest of the world.
The prophet Samuel is looking for the new King of Israel, and God leads him to Jesse’s house. Jesse has eight sons, and when Samuel sees Eliab (one of the sons), he says, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
Now, why did Samuel assume that Eliab was the guy? He was probably looking for someone who looked like a king. The current king at the time was named Saul. The Bible described Saul as the most handsome guy in all of Israel, significantly taller than anyone else, and broad-shouldered. Simply put, Saul looked the part. He probably looked like an athlete in their prime.
When Jesse shows up and sees Eliab, he is looking for external markers of someone who looks like a king. But listen to what God tells Samuel next: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
The Lord looks at the heart.
This is not the only time we see this principle in the Bible of God prioritizing the heart. Jesus talks about it multiple times in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 6. He warns against giving, praying, and fasting in a way that seeks recognition from others rather than from God.
Why? Because motivation matters.
Athlete, the rest of the world is measuring your success by external markers. Wins and losses. Personal stats. Championship titles. And none of those are bad! But in the midst of pursuing those goals, we would do well to remember that God cares about the “inside game” happening within us! Our why matters deeply to Him.
Film Study On Your Heart
Where do we go from here? Here is a simple recommendation for how to move forward: Be still and ask God to give you the self-awareness to understand what currently motivates you. What is it that you want the most as an athlete? Why do you want it? Start paying attention to the inside game happening in your heart as you practice and compete.
That’s it. Just start there. Give God permission to help you do some film study on what’s happening in your heart.
Athlete, people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Let’s start giving attention to what God prioritizes.
