Intrinsically motivated athletes typically concentrate on skill improvement and their growth as athletes. Extrinsic motivation refers to athletic behavior that is geared toward earning external rewards or to avoid punishment. Profoundly motivational quotes for athletes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
If you’re searching for famous sports quotes and powerful running quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of powerful gymnastics quotes, encouraging athlete quotes, and famous bodybuilding quotes.
Most Motivating Quotes For Athletes
You might not be able to outthink, out market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them. Lou Holtz
My attitude is that if you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that weakness into a strength. Michael Jordan
You have to do something in your life that is honorable and not cowardly if you are to live in peace with yourself. Larry Brown
Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made. Gabby Douglas
There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do. Derek Jeter
You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation. Homer Rice
An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. Emil Zatopek
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. Fred Devito
There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re out. There is no such thing as life in between. Pat Riley
If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters. Michael Owen
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. Wayne Gretzky
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Muhammad Ali
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man given. Be grateful. Conceit is self given. Be careful. John Wooden
Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you’ll start believing it. Jesse Owens
I hated every minute of training, but I said, Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Muhammad Ali
What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose. Andre Agassi
What keeps me going is not winning, but the quest for reaching potential in myself as a coach and my kids as divers. It’s the pursuit of excellence. Ron O’Brien
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man given. Be grateful. Conceit is self given. Be careful. John Wooden
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. Ross Perot
One thing about championship teams is that they’re resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity. Nick Saban
I think sports gave me the first place where this awkward girl could feel comfortable in my own skin. I think that’s true for a lot of women sports gives you a part of your life where you can work at something and you look in the mirror and you like that person. Teri McKeever
Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up. Rocky Balboa
Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard to find alloy called guts. Dan Gable
I think team first. It allows me to succeed, and it allows my team to succeed. Lebron James
The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it. Wayne Gretzky
I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated. Emmitt Smith
The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special. Eddie Reese
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. Kareem Abdul Jabaar
Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. William A. Ward
A man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. Muhammad Ali
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. Satchel Paige
Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. Lance Armstrong
You just can’t beat the person who never gives up. Babe Ruth
A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. Pat Riley
Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Bobby Unser
Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. Vince Lombardi
In baseball and in business, there are three types of people. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened. Tommy Lasorda
If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball. Jack Lemmon
Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. Bethany Hamilton
Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story. Casey Stengel
You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. Michael Phelps
It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. Vince Lombardi
Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit. Mary Lou Retton
When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important. Bill Shoemaker
Most of us never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. William James
Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Michael Jordan
Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden
In the end, the game comes down to one thing man against man. May the best man win. Sam Huff
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. Ross Perot
Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. Mike Singletary
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a determination. Usain Bolt
Pain is only temporary but victory is forever. Jeremy H
Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time. Lou Brock
Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. Vince Lombardi
You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy. Arthur Ashe
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. Tommy Lasorda
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan
The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before. Steve Young
If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion. Mia Hamm
There are certain basic qualities and characteristics you’ve got to have. Number one you’ve got to have a will to win. Bob Richards
I hated every minute of training, but I said, Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. Muhammad Ali
A champion is someone who does not settle for that day’s practice, that day’s competition, that day’s performance. They are always striving to be better. They don’t live in the past. Briana Scurry
If you want to be the best, you have to do the things that other people aren’t willing to do. Michael Phelps
Show me a gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure. Knute Rockne
There’s no better feeling than stepping out on the field and stunning them all by doing what none of them thought you could do. Ashlyn Harris
Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second. Paul Bryant
Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed in the loss. Doug Williams
Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry. Earl Monroe
The strength of the team is in each individual member the strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson
Nothing is black and white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that’s why people gravitate to that so much. Steve Nash
You have good days, you have bad days. But the main thing is to grow mentally. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky
A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win. A team is something you belong to, something you feel, something you have to earn. Gordon Bombay
I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better. Yogi Berra
Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Michael Jordan
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden
Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement. Matt Biondi
Competitive sports are played mainly on a five and a half inch court, the space between your ears. Bobby Jones
Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t. Jerry Rice
Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. Pele
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self discipline, and effort. Mark Spitz
You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Driven by the moral imperative of paying the price to be great. Vince Lombardi
An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. Emil Zatopek
