“Either or” or “as well as”: Exploring the relation between health and performance throughout the career pathways of high-performing athletes, musicians, and mathematicians

Elite athletes are often depicted as models of excellent work ethic and health. Yet, being embedded within a culture that normalizes pain and injuries, long-term health is often sacrificed for success (Nixon, 1993). Similar observations have also been noted regarding the sociocultural norms of other...

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Published in:Sport, exercise, and performance psychology exercise, and performance psychology, 2024-10
Main Authors: John, Jannika M., Wachsmuth, Svenja, Thiel, Ansgar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement
Athletes
Athletic Performance
Career Development
Female
Health Attitudes
Human
Male
Mathematicians
Meaning
Musicians
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Summary:Elite athletes are often depicted as models of excellent work ethic and health. Yet, being embedded within a culture that normalizes pain and injuries, long-term health is often sacrificed for success (Nixon, 1993). Similar observations have also been noted regarding the sociocultural norms of other high-performance domains, such as music and academia. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the experiences and meaning-making of health in relation to performance throughout the careers of high-performers in sports, music, and mathematics. Based on an interpretative framework, we interviewed 10 participants from each of the three high-performance contexts. We employed a reflexive thematic analysis to explore how participants negotiated the relation between health and performance throughout their career pathways. As a result, we generated six themes, each of which captures a different articulation of the health–performance relationship: (a) illusion of invulnerability, (b) health and performance as an antithesis, (c) the psychic benefits of performing outweigh its costs, (d) health as a prerequisite for performance, (e) there is more to me and life, and (f) it is difficult to care for one’s health. The findings illustrate the tensions and paradoxes high-performing athletes, musicians, and mathematicians experienced with regard to their health and highlight a deeply internalized performance narrative among individuals of different performance domains. Such personal beliefs, promoted within a culture of risk, made it difficult for high-performers to take care of themselves and to pursue health in a more holistic sense. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
ISSN:2157-3905
2157-3913
DOI:10.1037/spy0000370