How Athletes Find Meaning In Their Sport?
What Makes Sport Meaningful for Athletes?
Two activities take up a big chunk of my time during the week: conducting my research activities and lifting heavy at the gym. The latter brings many benefits to my happiness, mood, overall health, and mental health, but contrary to my research activity, it provides absolutely no sense of meaning in my life.
However, I have often wondered how the great powerlifters and MMA athletes I follow are able to derive meaning from an activity that is primarily self-oriented, as the main goal is achievement and success, which seem to me to be far more fragile sources of meaning. But perhaps they find meaning in a more self-transcendent way through sharing their passion, coaching, and helping others?
A recent article by Violetta Oblinger-Peters gave me some answers. Using a qualitative approach, the authors interviewed 13 Olympic winter athletes who had competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Through semi-structured life story interviews, they explored the role of sport in their lives, pivotal experiences, and the lessons learned throughout their journeys.
They found that athletes mainly derive meaning through two routes. Self-actualization is centered on the self, through experiencing autonomy, competence, a sense of mattering, and personal purpose. Self-transcendence is about being connected to others by pursuing a broader purpose, contributing to a greater cause, developing meaningful relationships, and feeling that they matter beyond themselves. In both cases, autonomy appears fundamental: those who reported doing what they do because they genuinely want to experienced more meaning than those who felt they have to.
An interesting question raised by the authors remains open: is one path more beneficial than the other? Based on what we know so far, I would argue that both are essential. Relying exclusively on a self-centered route can certainly lead to performance, provided the athlete succeeds, but will in the long run increase the likelihood of crises and mental health difficulties, especially when facing losses and injuries, which are more the norm than the exception in elite sport.
On a side note, for those more familiar with quantitative methods as I am, 13 participants may not seem like much, but Olympic athletes are not the kind of participants you find around every corner, and analyzing 30 to 50 minute interviews is extremely time-consuming. I am excited to see future quantitative work informed by these findings explore new avenues!
— Joffrey Fuhrer