Carlos Alcaraz the Journey vs the Success: Hard Work

Carlos Alcaraz said in the interview with ATP Tour, “Nobody gifts you anything, I believe. You don’t just click your fingers and have the world at your feet. You have to work at things. I think what I have achieved, winning a Grand Slam and being No. 1 in the world, is because of the work I’ve been doing with my team for a very long time.

It hasn’t been a bed of roses, I’ve had to suffer and go through bad times to get here. I’m not special, and nobody said I was going to be the best, I’ve worked for it.

The first topic I wanted to talk about was hard work from Carlos Alcaraz’s interview. From the statement above Alcaraz explains his beliefs inhimself and the suffering he has faced though out his journey.

Its humbling to hear this from a 19-year-old who wasthe first to be ranked number one in the world as a teenager. The acknowledgment of hard times before achieving his success shows the world that the journey isn’t always rainbows and butterflies.

When we expect rainbows and butterflies all the time were going to let ourselves down. From a sport psychology coach or sport psychologist perspectiveto expect perfection and greatness all the time is quite unrealistic.

What does that mean though? Our main concern iswinning and success. After reading that, you may be thinking to yourself... no I don’t do that. I don’t preach that to my athletes, or I want to win, but I focus on the process.

This is where it can get interesting. How do you react to a win or a loss? Immediate reaction and long-term reaction. What does your body language say to your athletes? What does your body language say to your opponents? How do you provide feedback after a win or lossto others or to yourself? Is that feedback communicated effectively enough to where the athlete will perceive and understand it’s about process execution and not result?

Ultimately and as painful as it is do you actually focus on process? Or does your concern for result outweigh the process?

There will be loss, failure, and doubt in sport. How willing are you to accept that? Acceptance meaning allowing failure to be there and continuing to push on with your head down.