The Importance of Autonomy in Coaching

There's a theory in human motivation and in coaching philosophy called self-determination theory. It's the idea that, that humans are happy and they find meaning and value in life through attaining autonomy, competence, and then relatedness. And one thing I have found is a way to transition people more towards aligning with those models as a coach was when I initially get an athlete who is very, very focused on external rewards. The only thing out of those three you really have control over is enjoying the process. We talked about how just the whole concept of taking everything you're learning from sport and having it trickle down to the rest of your life, that's all about autonomy.