“Are your decisions truly your own, or are they shaped by someone else’s vision?” (Part2)

 Kia Ora koutou,

This is Hiro.

Welcome back to Part 2, where the topic is: “Are your decisions truly your own, or are they shaped by someone else’s vision?” 

(If you have not read Part 1, that is from here.)

In the previous section, I shared my personal experiences of how team norms and coaching environments shaped my decisions, often without me realising it.

Now, let’s look at how we can analyse these influences more clearly. Using psychological tools like Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Multiple perspectives, we can begin to untangle which of our actions are truly self-driven and which are shaped by pressure, fear, or external expectations.

The goal is not to reject team culture entirely, but to reclaim your reasons for running, training, and competing in a way that feels right for you.

Where does your motivation come from?

Gaining Multiple Perspectives

To begin with, we need to view ourselves and our environments from multiple angles:

• What is the norm in our team?
  (Why are we doing these activities? What are we aiming for? What do we gain by winning?)
• What is our identity?
  (Why did we start this sport? What is its value for us?)
• What are our goals and actions?
  Journaling and reflection can help us observe ourselves objectively.

Reclaiming autonomy doesn’t mean ignoring coaches. It means respecting your own reasons for running, playing, or competing.

If there’s a big gap between your self-determined actions and team-driven behaviour, consider stepping away. That gap likely reflects a mismatch in values between you and the team. And then we can apply ourselves to Self-determination Theory.

 

What Is Self-Determination Theory (SDT)?

When we explore whether a decision is truly our own, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) becomes a powerful framework.
Developed by Deci and Ryan, SDT is a broad motivation theory that focuses on the quality of motivation, specifically whether it comes from within or from external pressures.

According to SDT, we all have three core psychological needs:

1. Autonomy – feeling that we are in control of our own choices
2. Competence – feeling effective and capable
3. Relatedness – feeling connected and accepted by others

Making a decision on your own ≠ Experiencing autonomy.
True autonomy means your decision aligns with your personal values and goals.

 

Team Benefits vs. Psychological Cost

Being part of a team offers many advantages:

• Financial support in corporate teams
• Sponsorships
• Training partners who match your level
• Shared goals that boost motivation

But we must also understand that:

• Team norms and power dynamics exist
• These affect our major or minor behaviour always
• Self-decision making may become distorted once we’re part of a group

We tend to overestimate our autonomy once we choose to join a team. However, we may overlook the internal changes and misalignment of purpose that follow.

 

Also, the stress level depends on the personality. So we should not think the same thing always same stress level. We have to remember “How you feel” is never the same in each mind.

If you are the person such as…

• Extremely diligent individuals
• Those who care deeply about others’ opinions
• People who value harmony and cooperation
• Those who want to please others or be useful

These types of people and athletes often have strong internal motivation, but when exposed to rigid team norms, they follow overimitation to the point of burnout.
They misinterpret controlled behaviours as personal choices, blaming themselves when things fall apart.

If you feel even slight stress in your current environment, take a step back and review it from multiple perspectives and apply the Self-determination theory. When our behaviour is shaped by over-imitation of the norms. If we try reducing stress from within that same environment is often very difficult. So, when you feel stress from your behaviour or group norms, think about your initial motivation for your sports and current challenges. If there is any gap, you should leave the environment.

 

Some Japanese running cultures and norms are introduced in this book

In Conclusion

Many people say, “Japanese marathoners are so disciplined.” We practice morning, noon, and evening with teammates, with high-volume training. These routines are praised as a symbol of Japanese mental strength, and we believe that there is huge stress for the runners. Actually, the training stress is not a major stressor in the environments, quite often. However, we are easily misunderstood where the stress comes from, and fail to remove the mental stress from our careers.

In reality, the pressure from the team or environment, not the training itself, may be the greatest burden.

Disorders like eating issues, chronic fatigue, injuries, or burnout often stem not from physical training but from long-term loss of identity and autonomy under team norms.

In contrast, I’ve found that in Australian and New Zealand running communities, I can run joyfully without those pressures.

Australian New Zealand Club Training = Autonomous Motivation

• You choose when and how to train based on your feelings and goals
• You may push or rest, but the choice aligns with your values
• You feel capable, supported, and in control
  “I want to train today, because it helps me grow and perform well.”
  Matches SDT: Autonomous, intrinsic, and healthy

Japanese University = Controlled Motivation

• You train not because you want to, but because of pressure
• Even if you "choose" to train, it’s driven by fear of judgment or being seen as weak
  “I don’t want to go, but if I skip the training or session, they’ll think I’m not strong enough or this level runner.”
  A decision, "YES". But not self-determined

 When the team’s purpose aligns closely with your personal purpose, self-decision making is always from Autonomous decisions, which makes you realise it’s a truly good environment for your sport.

If you are struggling with your sports in the environment, you should discuss yourself or your mentor now. You will remember why you are here and what you want to do initially.

If you are enjoying your sports in your environment, you can reconfirm what makes you happy and why you do it. Those will help build your sports happiness.