Achievement goal theory

According to the theory, every athlete has a preferred criterion of success. With a task orientation, success is your own progress and growing mastery. With an outcome (ego) orientation, success is beating your rivals and demonstrating superiority. The two orientations are not mutually exclusive, but the balance between them strongly affects how durable your motivation is.

An athlete with a task orientation takes defeats more calmly and fears mistakes less, because they measure themselves by their own growth. A dominant ego orientation combined with low confidence deepens fear of losing and fear of making mistakes. The motivational climate the coach creates largely decides which orientation takes hold.

Your goal orientation profile and your perception of the motivational climate are measured with dedicated achievement questionnaires. You can take the assessment in the tests section. The results show the balance between task and outcome orientation and suggest where to shift the focus.

Setting process goals, keeping a personal progress journal and moving attention from the scoreboard to executing the elements all build a task orientation. It matters to praise yourself for effort and growth, not only for winning. The practices are in the exercises section.

The key concept in the theory is task orientation, set against ego orientation. The theory overlaps with the self-determination continuum on the question of motivational quality. A tilt toward ego orientation is linked to fear of losing and fear of making mistakes.