<h2>Mental abilities I look for as a kettlebell sport coach</h2>

Before I agree to coach an athlete long term I secretly look for four mental abilities which I know will make me a good coach and you a successful kettlebell lifter.

Self Motivation

No-one can create a stronger drive chasing your kettlebell sport dream than yourself. It is essentially a form of Love - coming from inside, self regenerating, and magical on top of that. We can’t explain fully why we are so passionate about lifting kettlebells but the pleasure is irresistible. Self Motivation is the mental ability you can’t do without if you want to became a master of kettlebell sport.

Self Discipline

While the self motivation generates the goal and the driving force, self discipline makes sure you have what it takes. It is looking straight into the eye of hardship, leaving no room for derailment. When the job needs to be done, you show up. When you need to rest, you hold yourself back. But that’s the easy part. The tough part is when you face all your addictions that can throw you off. And we know we have plenty of them. Don’t drink too much, go to bed early, don’t eat too much, eat the right stuff, mind your lighting conditions, and so it goes… Self discipline is like gravity - it always applies. Self discipline is only powerful when it is consistent. Which leads us to…

Patience

As a kettlebell athlete you need at least three years to start seeing good results and about ten years to unveil your physical and mental capacity. This is a lot of training, a lot of learning, a lot of ups and downs. If you don’t have patience you’ll never see yourself flourish. There are athletes who go for the short term harvest, not paying attention to technique and gradual adaptation. Usually they hit long platos and develop numerous injuries along the way. Mastery takes time, you can’t cheat this process. From a short term prospective patience is critical to go well through a training set. Endurance is essential for the Kettlebell Sport and the athlete needs to learn to hold back at the beginning in order to establish an optimal pace.

Confidence

There are whole bunch of factors building your psyche. You don’t choose your parents, country, and childhood which form a good chunk of your subconscious image. You can’t change your past either. You can only become aware of it. Lucky or not I find that becoming aware of your subconscious fears is the secret for growing confidence. Having your own philosophy about life is also helping. No matter where your confidence stands on the scale it will always grow if you have success in competition or training. I advice the athlete to set realistic goals that are achievable. This will ensure hunger for more success which will gradually raise confidence and expectations.