Feeling fired with enthusiasm? Not even the most focused athlete has the drive to train with navy SEAL zeal every day. Sometimes, even hard-chargers veg out on the couch, abandoning new year resolutions.

Need a pick-me-up? Here are 10 stunning motivational sporting quotes with more punch than a protein shake. Get in the “zone”.

Top 10 motivational sports quotes

1. ”Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” Racing driver, Mario Andretti.

2. ”Boxers are going away and not getting decisions and are losing, so it’s not looking good for us, is it, as a nation? Thanks for pointing that out. It’s put even more pressure on me now. I don’t mind that at all. I love pressure.” British boxer, Carl “the Cobra” Froch.

3. “There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory.” Surfer, Gary Sirota.

4. “I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Basketball ace, Michael Jordan.

5. “You can’t just beat a team. You have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again.” Soccer striker, Mia Hamm.

6. ”Powder snow skiing is not fun.  It’s life, fully lived – life lived in a blaze of reality.”  Powder skiing pioneer, Dolores LaChapelle.

7. “Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don’t so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them – and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head.” Runner, Joe Henderson.

8. “That’s what this sport is about: living on the razor’s edge and meeting up to the challenge.” Bull rider, Shane Proctor.

9. ”To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain… at cycling’s core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn’t matter if you’re sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you’re missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there’s no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks.” Cyclist, Scott Martin.

10. ”The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car. It’s the one who refuses to lose.” Nascar racer, Dale Earnhardt.

Cover Photo Credit: maxf – flickr.com