Saturday, July 10, 2010

Final Project Post: Motivation

This motivation course describes motivation, emotions and the history of them. The course explores how sex, fear, food, and music affects motivation and the drive in having motivation. Theories of drug abuse, addictions and behavioral addictions are explained in having a great affect in motivation. Stress, coping and health plays an important role in motivation. These things determine ones relationships, life and daily activities.

Most of all to have motivation you need drive, which is explored and also how needs affect achieving the motivational levels that you have. These also affect a persons goal motivation and if they are achievable, which will be discussed in more depth. Lastly how a person's mood and emotions affect motivation. These emotions are motives for behavior and every day life events.

The section I enjoyed the most was on goals which was discussed in Chapter 11. What is a goal? The text describes it as, "when faced with choices on how to spend time and effort to obtain an outcome or incentive, the outcome or incentive that is chosen becomes the goal (p.263)." Goals are larger than incentives for example look at this youtube clip of Michael Phelps; the goal was to win an Olympic medal and he did just that; he became the greatest Olympic Champion of all time.

Goals are normally larger and tend to be more complex. People set goals for themselves at different levels. Higher level goals have higher value which provide greater benefits. To make a goal achievable you must be able to visualize it. The clearer the image will better the ability to achieve the goal the person has. To achieve a goal you must commit to the goal that is set; a person must be willing to put the time in, do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.

I have attached an article about my Niece who started playing tennis at age 3 and has become so determined to achieve her goal that she set in taking her tennis career to the next level. At age 10 she is now ranked 6th in Middle States (PA, DE, NJ) age 12 and under out of 189 girls, ranked 180th nationwide out of 1,183 girls. According to the Tennis Recruiting Network.com, Tess ranks 22nd nationwide, 5th in the Mid Atlantic Region (PA, NJ, NY, VA, MD, DC and DE) and third in New Jersey among rising fifth graders. She is a perfect example of goals, setting them, staying motivated and continue to make strides to achieve her goals.

Here is an article that was published in The Daily Journal Newspaper about her on March 13, 2010.

V'LAND TENNIS PRODIGY AT AGE 10:
Daily Journal - Vineland, N.J.
Author: JOSH FRIEDMAN
Date: Mar 13, 2010
Section: NEWS


Document Text
jfriedman@thedailyjournal.com

Tess Fisher won't fool anyone into thinking she's a high school student, but she fits right in with them on the tennis court.

The 4-foot-8, 70-pounder from Vineland is just 10 years old, but is already a formidable adversary for South Jersey's elite players -- boy or girl.

"She'd definitely make the varsity roster," said junior Aidan Kaye, a two-time letter winner for St. Augustine Preparatory School, who started hitting with Fisher about a month ago.

"You forget she's 10 when you're playing her because she's so good," said Millville Senior High School junior Sarah Lippincott, who has played singles for the Bolts since she was a freshman. "She hangs with high school players and beats them. Knowing she's 10, it's cool to wait and see what she'll become."

While Tess hasn't defeated Kaye or Lippincott just yet, both players have been awed at the youngster's potential.

Tess, a fourth-grader at Ellison School, is 13th in the girls 12-and-under Middle States rankings, which includes players from Pennsylvania and Delaware, and is rated 24th nationally for the Class of 2018 by tennisrecruiting.net.

She's been playing tournaments all over the Northeast and as far west as Chicago since 2006, and has developed so quickly that she hasn't played in the 10-and-under division since 2008.

"I think by the end of this year, my goal is to be No. 1 in Middle States," Tess said. "That's going to get me noticed, and I think when I'm 11, I'm going to want to be No. 1 in the country. And then, when I'm 12, I'm going to start playing more of those tournaments and keep getting better and then I think I can turn pro."

Her coach, Eric Riley, is confident Tess has the game to make that kind of splash in the future.

"Tess has the most complete game of any 10-year-old I've ever seen," said Riley, who has coached tennis for 20 years and worked with Grand Slam doubles champions Pam Shriver and Lisa Raymond.

"Our focus for her, once she dominates junior tennis, is going to be focusing on world ranking with the pro players."

Tess, who also works with P.J. Ragone for her footwork and agility, has impressed Riley and other tennis aficionados with a well-rounded game.

"It's unfathomable that someone that age can have that technique and strategy and mental toughness," Vineland tennis coach Harry Silverstein said. "It doesn't happen."

Fisher is well aware her game is more developed than most her age.

"I think that my game is going to change the whole entire girls' tennis game because I think that I'm going to be a serve-and-volleyer and none of the girls do that," she said.

Her parents, Wendy and Gary, never expected Tess to develop this quickly. Her love affair with tennis started at age 3. Gary Fisher would play catch with her in the backyard with a tennis ball, and he quickly realized Tess had impeccable hand-eye coordination.

"So we got her a little racquet, and I'd bounce the ball in front of her and she'd start hitting it," he said.

Fisher said when Tess was 7 she was already playing with advanced groups in clinics.

Now she's regularly hitting with the defending Cape-Atlantic League individual champion, Holy Spirit's Adrienne Kaye, and her cousin, Middle Township's Joel Novick, the Panthers' No. 1 player.

"I'm glad I won't be here (when she's in high school)," joked Kaye. "She's so good, and she keeps getting better too."

If Tess progresses at the same rate as she has over the past few years, her parents might have to take her to a warmer climate, such as Florida or California, and get her involved with a tennis academy.

"Over the next two years, a lot will show," Gary Fisher said. "We've mentioned it to her. (We asked), 'Would you ever want to go to a place, mom and dad would be there, too, but you'd play tennis all the time and they'd school you at the tennis place,' and she said, 'I'd love that.'"

And with Tess' aspirations, Vineland might not be able to contain her.

"My goal is when I'm 14 years old, I want to be the No. 1 tennis pro in the world," she said. "I think I can (do it) if I keep practicing hard."

Hopefully you can learn from goal setting and learn how to achieve those goals. It is possible, so go ahead set yourself a goal, aim high and go out there, get MOTIVATED and achieve it! You can do it; it just takes some MOTIVATION!

Final Project Post By: Amie Lidke 7/10/2010

2 comments:

  1. Go Tess! I'll definitely keep my eye out for her! It's refreshing to see someone so set on their goals. It seems like she has a great support system too. I admire her motivation to set her sights on what she wants, and then use all her resources to go for it. And only ten years old?! Like I said, go Tess!

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  2. Thanks Jennifer. I am so proud of her. The best part about Tess and her achievements is that she is so humble about her greatness!

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