Mental Health Resources

NCAA 

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2007_managing_mental_health_0.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvPhn4FZhxg#action=share

http://www.ncaa.org/about/student-athletes-mental-health-more-educated-approach

Self Check-in by Real Simple

https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/emotional-health/self-check-in

Mental Health America

https://mhanational.org/blog/invisible-competition-mental-health-within-athletics

Your  “big goal” is best kept in your visual periphery. It is most likely what motivates and drives you, so keep it close by your side and you will get the energy from it. Simultaneously, it will not intimidate or seem “so far away” because you are keeping it close.

Think of it this way: the dates are set, the events are real. How you fit in will be shown by the path you design to get there.

When setting your goal, sketch all aspects you can think of that are necessary to reach the goal. 

Break these down into smaller and smaller units, and sequence/bunch/group them so that they produce what you are visualizing. 

Then design a chronological order in which you want to ‘check the items off the list’. 

Attend to this list frequently, go over it, amend it, add, subtract – let it be a living document. 

You become a student of your event and with it, your expertise grows. A positive side-effect is that your confidence grows. 

You are sure of what you are working on, your approach is focused, thought through, and reasonable.

Visualizing even the smallest details has been shown to have a positive effect on muscle memory and the physical production of movement sequences. 

You can train in your bed! Do it – imagine how much less stressed your body will be. 

(You can also work on injuries by visualizing your body functioning as it does when it is healthy.) 

See yourself do what you want to do. There is a law of attraction at work, so train your mind to attract what you want to see realized. 

If you would like to get some more input let me know, we can design a visualization sequence together.

A little more about time: there is no rush. By focusing on the process, you will find that time either can fly or stretch. 

Sometimes, a task can be so intense, or boring, or seemingly unrelated that time stretches and there seems to be no forward movement. 

Understand that this is a matter of perception, not a reality. The universe does its thing, no matter how we experience it. 

The fact that we can actually change our perception of time is a luxury. Have you ever stretched time to your advantage? 

You might be taking time before the start, and you might feel like you have all the time in the world standing at the line, before the start.  You can tell yourself that you are stretching time. Use your breath to do so. Get in the moment. Do your thing. Find what works for you.  

When time flies, we are usually unaware of it and completely immersed in the moment. All of a sudden, it’s all over. Where did time go? 

Hm…, good question. Typically, when we feel that time flies, we are in a positive experience. 

If you want to recall the feeling of fun, or a positive experience, think of a time like this and unearth the feeling that came with it. 

We can reproduce these at will (and with some training….). This means that you have the ability and power to put yourself into a positive frame of mind. 

Here is a fun assessment tool: if “almost fabulous” is a 0, and “absolutely amazing” is a 10 – where do you want your day to be?