{"id":8150,"date":"2017-05-11T15:48:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T15:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/?p=8150"},"modified":"2025-06-09T08:44:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T12:44:06","slug":"why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Athletes Engage in The Blame Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8152\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/performance-control.jpg\" alt=\"Improve Your Sports Performance\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/performance-control.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/performance-control-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Improving_Your_Sports_Performance\"><\/span>Improving Your Sports Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Article Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#Improving_Your_Sports_Performance\" >Improving Your Sports Performance<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#This_mindset_is\" >This mindset is:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#Djokovic_had_two_options\" >Djokovic had two options:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#Tips_For_Taking_Control_of_Your_Performance\" >Tips For Taking Control of Your Performance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Sports Psychology Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/#The_Confident_Athlete\" >The Confident Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>When things don&#8217;t go as planned with your performance, do you play the &#8220;blame game&#8221;?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you lose a game, make a critical error or bomb a performance, do you pin the fault on someone else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How many times have you heard athletes or teammates say, <em>&#8220;If my teammate didn\u2019t mess up, we would have won,&#8221; &#8220;My coach doesn\u2019t like me and doesn\u2019t pay any attention to me in practice,&#8221; &#8220;If the referee didn\u2019t make that bad call,&#8221;<\/em> or, <em>&#8220;My parents put too much pressure on me?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>There is a huge problem when you engage in the blame game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you feel your coach, teammate, officials or parents caused you to perform poorly, then you are saying the only way for you to perform better is if they change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The blame game basically states that you are not in control of how you perform&#8211;other factors determine your success or failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think for a minute, this type of <strong>mindset<\/strong> minimizes your part in your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"This_mindset_is\"><\/span>This mindset is:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter how hard you work, your results are ultimately determined by other people or factors your can&#8217;t control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The opposite of this <strong>mindset<\/strong> is taking responsibility for your results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, there are some circumstances outside of your control like playing time, weather and injury but the majority of your results are under your control&#8230; and that\u2019s the way you should want it to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you take <strong>personal responsibility<\/strong> for your <strong>success,<\/strong> then you have the power to improve your performance, <strong>consistency<\/strong> and attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you take personal responsibility, you will put forth more effort in practice&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will pay more attention to the little things that can greatly impact your performance&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will work more diligently to improve your technique&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will have a more <strong>positive<\/strong> attitude and feel a sense of <strong>confidence<\/strong> and control in competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even some pros shun responsibility and this lack of responsibly often keeps them in a slump or in the under-performing trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Novak Djokovic was ranked No. 1 and held the top ranking in the ATP rankings for a total of 223 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Djokovic seemed unbeatable but something changed after losing in the first round of the Rio Olympic Games and being defeated in the finals at the 2016 U.S. Open&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Djokovic\u2019s performance and <strong>consistency<\/strong> started to decline slightly and he lost his No. 1 ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Djokovic_had_two_options\"><\/span>Djokovic had two options:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Take responsibility for his performance dip<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for someone to blame<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Djokovic chose the latter and fired his coach, fitness coach, and physiotherapist despite the fact that this support staff was with him when he won 12 slam titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement he issued a contradictory statement about his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DJOKOVIC:<\/strong><em> &#8220;I want to find a way to come back to the top stronger and more resilient&#8230; It was not an easy decision, but [my team] felt that we need a change.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Djokovic\u2019s search should be internal&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How can I improve my performance?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, you control your fitness, not your fitness coach\u2026 You control your technique, not your coach\u2026 You control your rehab and recovery, not your physiotherapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it is important to have a strong support staff, it\u2019s up to you to do the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can take back control, if you take personal responsibility for your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_For_Taking_Control_of_Your_Performance\"><\/span>Tips For Taking Control of Your Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>First, avoid playing the blame game and blaming failure on other people or factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When evaluating your competition results, look objectively for 1-2 ways you can improve your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you make a habit of taking personal responsibility, you will empower yourself and be more motivated to find ways to up your game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-athlete-cd-program\/\">Start my taking control of your confidence level with proactive confidence.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-979ef383-5bc7-43ee-b8f9-249663ca1a6c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Sports Psychology Articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-05642731-8752-4dbf-9c18-5cc4d276e821\" class=\"wp-block-list has-normal-font-size\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/do-you-or-your-team-have-the-comeback-mindset\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/tennis-mind-games-early-us-open-exits-is-this-mental-or-physical\/\"><strong>Tennis Mind Games: Early US Open Exits \u2013 Is This Mental or Physical?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-to-grow-competition-confidence\/\"><strong>How to Grow Competition Confidence\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-preparation-boosts-confidence\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-coaches-why-athletes-assume-focus-is-to-blame\/\"><strong>Mental Coaches: Why Athletes Assume Focus is to Blame<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-5726d13f-f715-4ca4-8813-2f8a9ebd8bc3\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-281f5afb-980b-4c71-9aa0-11d606b5f7c9\"><strong>Download a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/mental-toughness-report-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free sports psychology report<\/a>&nbsp;to improve your mental game!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-94138e75-d591-4645-bb1d-212cf57a8841\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sport-psychology-training-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Confident_Athlete\"><\/span>The Confident Athlete <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/confident-athlete-audio250.jpg\" alt=\"The Confident Athlete Audio\" class=\"wp-image-16347\" style=\"width:198px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d consists of 2 audio programs that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me help you put a <strong>stop to the confidence leak<\/strong>. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and <strong>how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was <strong>developed for any athlete \u2013 junior to professional \u2013<\/strong>that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-0b39f7aa\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-a74417ae gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-461ab57c gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-confident-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Improving Your Sports Performance When things don&#8217;t go as planned with your performance, do you play the &#8220;blame game&#8221;? When you lose a game, make a critical error or bomb a performance, do you pin the fault on someone else? How many times have you heard athletes or teammates say, &#8220;If my teammate didn\u2019t mess up, we would &#8230; <a title=\"Why Athletes Engage in The Blame Game\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/why-athletes-engage-in-the-blame-game\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why Athletes Engage in The Blame Game\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[691,1014],"class_list":["post-8150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-psychology-tips","tag-sports-performance","tag-athlete-mindset"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.5.2 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you lose a game, make a critical error or bomb a performance, do you play the &quot;blame game&quot;? 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