People who push beyond limitations made not born

They are convinced they are tougher than the challenge, professor-coach says.

People who run marathons or climb mountains are universally admired for their ability to push themselves beyond the limits of what others would consider themselves capable.

Richard McGuire, head coach of the MU track and field team and assistant professor of education and counseling psychology, said the type of people who achieve these kinds of unique feats are made — not born.

“We all have the qualities of risk-taking and the delusion of invulnerability to some degree,” McGuire said. “Highly achieving athletes typically exhibit those qualities to a very high degree compared to other people.”

Athletic contests are ultimately about evaluation, and, for many, the world consists solely of winners and losers, McGuire said.

“Society has sent the message that if you want to be someone, be an athlete, be a winner, be a champion,” McGuire said. “All others are losers.”

Although McGuire said he thinks sports are given too much importance in society, there is a reason why newspapers have a sports page but no math page. McGuire said that this is the same reason why 80,000 people will come out to watch sporting events every weekend: It is the desire for adulation and the pride that comes with overcoming great obstacles.

“People who possess the desire to take great risks and believe that they are invulnerable go into high-risk sports,” McGuire said. “Marathon runners, triathletes, mountain climbers and bicyclists in the Tour de France are all people who want the challenge and the recognition that comes with overcoming that challenge. They convince themselves that they are tougher than the challenge and that the risks don’t apply to them.”

However, these traits also have a dark side. McGuire said that the same beliefs that lead to great achievement can also lead to risky behaviors like drug and alcohol abuse. What makes some people great athletes can sometimes make them bad role models, he said.

McGuire said that there is a formula for success but that success is not the same as winning. Success, he said, is the combination of ability, preparation, effort and will; in other words, success is doing your best. If you do less than your best, you allow the possibility that you might lose. However, if you do your best and lose anyway, then you are still a success.

Of all these factors, will is the most important, McGuire said.

“These people develop the will to go on, to get up again. They ignore weakness,” he said. “They look for the moment where everyone else quits. The essential pivot point is that these people have chosen ahead of time that they will go on, they are committed to achieving their goal. Pride comes from investing yourself and overcoming challenges. Fun is the joy of overcoming a great challenge, and it is that feeling that drives these people to want to do these things.”

McGuire said that these “I did it” moments have a high value because they come at a great cost.

Richard Cox, professor and chair of the MU Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology, said the most important motivations for high-achieving athletes are internal.

“It is primarily a function of intrinsic motivation and not external rewards,” Cox said. “Intrinsic motivation is very complex and comes from many sources, but the most important are (a) confidence, or the belief you can be successful, and (b) perceived personal control or autonomy (who is in charge). Intrinsic motivation can be undermined by external rewards that are perceived as being controlling (external reason for doing things).”