What Does it Mean to be Mentally Tough? - September 2021
The Tokyo Olympics brought a lot of awareness to mental wellness and what it means to be mentally tough. A common misconception, and one I had as an athlete, was…. Mentally tough meant
Never showing weakness,
Never admitting that I was NOT okay, and
Never sharing my mental health struggles with anyone.
Unfortunately, I suffered the consequences of trying to be what I thought was “mentally tough”.
I define mentally tough as the following: an individual’s resilience and confidence. An athlete that can handle pressure, have self-belief and know that it is OK to advocate for themselves. To be mentally tough, one needs to take care of their MIND and BODY. Be physically well and mentally well.
The start of the school year brings lots of stress, long days, and can be very physically and mentally draining. As summer comes to an end, we are often overwhelmed with what lies ahead of us – back to school, hours of homework, and practice on top of that. Want to make the best of getting back into the swing of things with school and gym? Here are 4 tips to help re-focus your mindset to help you stay mentally well through the school year!
Tip # 1: Set an intention. Having intentions allows you to focus on how you want to be in the moment, how you want to feel right now, and every day. It is about tuning into your moment-to-moment focus. An example of an intention could be… “Be Present” “Confident,” “Patient.”
Tip # 2: Set up a mindfulness practice; even it is only 2 minutes every day. Why? The benefits of mindfulness are endless for both in and out of the gym! Here are just a few benefits of mindfulness: stress reduction, increased focus and concentration, improved sleep, and even increased immune system functioning! Here are some of my favorite meditation apps to use:
Insight Timer
Calm
Headspace
Smiling Mind
MyLife Meditation
Stop, Breathe, Think for Kids
Tip # 3: Make time for self-care. With the hustle and bustle of back to school, it is easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Self-care refers to anything you do to improve your wellbeing and happiness! You might think doing 20 minutes of self-care is actually taking time away from everything productive you need to do such as homework and chores, but research shows it actually helps us be more productive. Carve out 20-30 minutes each week for self-care. Such as painting your nails or taking a long bubble bath!
Tip # 4: Create a vision board of what you want the upcoming school year and competition season to look like. Once you have created your vision board, put it somewhere you will see every day! Visualization is one of the most powerful mind exercises and can really help you dial in and focus!
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