Word of the Week: Thankful

Word of the Week: 11/25-12/1: THANKFUL

 Happy Monday! It's time for our Word of the Week! This week we will focus on THANKFUL. You probably saw that one coming, it is Thanksgiving week. I challenge you to think outside the box on things you are Thankful for. Focus on aspects of your life that may seem mundane, these may be what you should be most thankful for! Weirdly enough I am thankful for the colder weather. I grew up in the mid-west and northeast where you have season changes. Living in California for years I forgot what fall/winter felt like. Now, living in Texas I am excited for a colder 36 rainy day! It's not snow but I do get to see my breath when I walk outside.








During this week I challenge you to be mindful of what and why you are THANKFUL. Share with us what you observe throughout the week. May you all have safe travels and  THANKFUL moments!

Are You an Athlete?

What is a Better Sports Mind and how can one obtain it? Well, I suppose the first question to answer is whom is a Better Sports Mind for? I fully believe that a Better Sports Mind is for us all. Mhmm, how could that be if you are not an "athlete?" Great question, let's start out with defining who an athlete is.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2013), would define an athlete as, someone who has training or is good at sports, games, or participating in exercise that requires physical skill and strength. In essence, an athlete is anyone who is participating in movement with the intent to be exercising and/or training for a sport or game that requires physical skill. Understanding the meaning of an athlete may change your mindset and have you realize, "Wait a minute, I am an athlete."  I would continue this definition by breaking the idea of an athlete into two categories: Competitive Athlete & Non-Competitive Athlete. I bet you once believed you were an athlete when you were a member of a team back in "your glory days." I hope you redefine yourself and understand you are still an athlete.

A Competitive Athlete is defined as someone who is currently training physically for a specific
competition. A Non-Competitive Athlete would be someone who enjoys to physically exercise but does not participate in any competitive events. Re-framing your idea of an athlete expands the concept of whom obtains a Better Sports Mind. Whether you are a Competitive or Non-Competitive Athlete you are still participating in a sport. Mental skills training will assist in developing your mental strength which will assist in enhancing your physical strength.

As I stated earlier, a Better Sports Mind is for everyone. After defining the meaning of an athlete you still may not consider yourself one. I would than ask, are you a parent or supporter of an athlete? If the answer is yes than you could also gain an understanding and benefit from a Better Sports Mind. You will relate to your child more, become a better supporter and see how mental skills are transferable life skills. Meaning, you may not need relaxation techniques to assist in calming your nerves before a free throw, but you will benefit from some deep breathing techniques while sitting in traffic!

In essence, anyone could benefit from a Better Sports Mind, as a Better Sports Mind, is learning specific mental skills techniques: goal setting, communication, motivation, confidence, energy management, focus and control, relaxation, and visualization. These mental skills will assist in all aspect of your life and are practiced just like your physical skills. We all need a Better Sports Mind because inside us all is an ATHLETE. Develop your athlete identity today.


Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.-Johann Gottfried Von Herder

 

 
athlete. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com. 
          Retrieved November 19, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/athlete

Word of the Week: RESPECT

Word of the Week: 11/18-11/24: RESPECT

This week the focus is on RESPECT. The word of the week is to focus on all aspects of the meaning. Bring RESPECT into your daily mental, physical, and emotional well-being. As many quotes state RESPECT first starts with ourselves. What will you change to show more RESPECT to yourself?

Word of the Week: RECAP: GOALS

Last week the Word of the Week was: Goals. How did you implement Goals into your day? Did you accomplish a goal  you were working on? Were you S.M.A.R.T.E.R. when setting new goals?

When going into this week I focused on the feelings Refresh I experienced from the previous week. I was able to be mindful of goals throughout the week. I practiced setting a daily process goal, which I quickly had to reevaluate and refocus my energy to continue my momentum and motivation in accomplishing my goal. I reflected on my process and was mindful that although barriers occur, there are ways to work through them and use them as fuel for your motivation. I will admit that it is not always easy to deal with barriers and often times it is after my reflection when I understand the process. However, through this week I found a new motivation and am mindful of my goals. I am focusing on the process of each goal to assist in achieving the outcome.

Share your experience with goals!

Grit & Great #2: Beat Cancer Boot Camp

The Grit & Great #2: Beat Cancer Boot Camp

The end of the week is here and time to share who we felt represented the Grit & Great. The Grit & Great highlight this week came to me in the most surprising way and I was very moved by the impact and their movement. I would love to hear how this story resonates with you.

As I stated, this story came to me in a surprising manner. I was working from home and had The Biggest Loser playing in the background. I must admit I enjoy watching this show for a variety of reasons. I become inspired learning the participants stories and connecting with their success. I also gain an understanding and new insights of how people change their behavior, think, and feel. I look at the different motivating factors, goals, work ethic, and struggles that the participants face. This is all research for me to become better at my job but I do also enjoy the show! You get great work out tips along the way and at the end of the show I always want to go run.

The most recent episode I was watching, the Red Team was going to work out with the Beat Cancer Boot Camp workout group. I had never heard of Beat Cancer Boot Camp prior to the show but as I was watching and listening to their mission it became so powerful that these participants who workout with this group are representing everything about The Grit & Great. 

 Beat Cancer Boot Camp is a fitness-based support program created to help survivors stay active during cancer treatment and beyond. This boot camp was founded by Anita “Sarge” Kellman. She has been working in the medical field for 25 years and understands the positive effects of exercise and group support.  Studies have shown that regular exercise helps relieve stress, anxiety, and combat some of the side effects common to cancer treatment such as nausea and fatigue. Beat Cancer Boot Camp is an inspiring program but beyond that the members of this program are the true inspiration.

The story resonates with me personally as I know my family members who have gone through chemo and are fighting or fought cancer. One really is a soldier and has the persistent and true GRIT to take on that battle. Having that mentality and using the energy to work your body out and find true happiness through the outcomes of exercise is GREATNESS. I would be honored to meet any member of the Beat Cancer Boot Camp and have an opportunity to embrace their workout program. I encourage you to check out their website and see if there is a chapter in your area. I am thankful for watching The Biggest Loser to have an opportunity to learn about this program and see how passionate and infectious this program is. Beat Cancer Boot Camp participants you truly have The GRIT & GREAT!

Don't be S.M.A.R.T. be S.M.A.R.T.E.R

GOAL SETTING: Be S.M.A.R.T.E.R!

Having a goal is SMART, important and the first step in making change, but learning how to be S.M.A.R.T.E.R when setting goals takes a little bit more practice and patience.One has to be diligent when setting goals and mindful of following each step of the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal setting process. First, understand why you are setting the goal. Why are you choosing to embark on a new challenge? Think about how you feel and what will change once you reach your goal. When you identify your core purpose of embarking on a new challenge you will be able to increase your motivation and drive. Having this core purpose/passion is your fuel. Your fuel will give you the extra boost when the going gets tough, or it's cold outside and you don't want to go workout! Find your Fuel, use your Fuel, and set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals. Follow the goal setting process below to assist you in reaching your next challenge. Remember-WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN. A goal written is just letters that make up an idea until you make it an action-GET STARTED!

Goal Setting Process-The S.M.A.R.T.E.R Way
S: SPECIFIC
M: MEASURABLE
A: ATTAINABLE
R: REALISTIC
T: TIME-BASED
E: EVALUATION
R: RE-FOCUS

Goal setting gives you an edge in three areas:
1- Provides direction
2- Provides feedback
3- Provides a daily purpose-motivation

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.-Henry David Thoreau

Word Of the Week:REFRESH RECAP!

Last week  your challenge was to focus on the word REFRESH. How did you do? Were you more mindful and practice ways to feel REFRESHED?
When I initially picked REFRESH, as the first word of the week focus, I was thinking more in terms of taking time to focus on sleep, and increase your energy. I felt if one would focus on feeling REFRESHED you would than increase your focus on daily tasks. As I was being mindful of the word of the week I developed a new meaning of REFRESH. I had two meetings last week where I was discussing my work and my passion. After the meetings I realized how REFRESHING it is to be able to see growth in myself and others when discussing the positive impact of sport psychology. REFRESH became more than just gaining a sense of relaxation and energy. REFRESH turned into reflection and inspiration. Feeling so inspired and refocused I thought what better way to have GOALS as the Word of the Week-11/11-11/17.

Word of the Week: GOALS: 11/11-11/17:

No need to wait until January to focus on meeting your new goals for 2014. Get ahead, start now before the holidays. Don't be S.M.A.R.T. when setting GOALS be S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Check back tomorrow for a follow up on how to set S.M.A.R.T.E.R. GOALS. Focus on the process not the product when working toward your goals.!

The Grit & Great #1: Olivet Eagles

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/teammates.html#rTxDZVOwROxVDFGO.99

 " Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." -Magic Johnson

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/teammates.html#rTxDZVOwROxVDFGO.99

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/teammates.html#rTxDZVOwROxVDFGO.99

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/teammates.html#rTxDZVOwROxVDFGO.99

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/teammates.html#rTxDZVOwROxVDFGO.99

 There was a sense of pressure I put on myself in finding a story that truly represented the "Grit & Great." However, as I began this journey on Sunday to find the article of the week one fit perfectly with the meaning behind "Grit & Great."

Before I share this story with you and the reasons for choosing this as our weekly "Grit & Great" I want to break down the meaning of having GRIT and how that turns into GREATness.

Having GRIT is a part of one's personality and often defined as; perseverance and passion.  When one has/demonstrates GRIT they often have worked persistently through challenges maintaining hard work and determination to reach their goals despite adversity and challenges in the process (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007). One can understand that if you have the GRIT quality you will eventually reach GREATNESS. I would argue that this quality can be shown within an individual as well as a group or team. Our weekly "GRIT & GREAT" highlights how a team demonstrated this and ever changed their culture.

The Olivet Eagles football team from Olivet Middle School, MI showed not just GRIT & GREAT but the true meaning of a team. What stood out the most about this compelling story was hearing how this incident not only affected the intended teammate but the entire team, and community. A change has been made in this community and hopefully can be demonstrated in many other areas. One young teammate was honest and said it best. He was candid in stating he would not have thought of this idea on his own, and pretty much would not have cared to. It wasn't on his radar to be caring and mindful of making someone else a priority.

In reality I don't blame him, not only do most middle schoolers think this way, but most of us in general act this way. The change in his mindset, demeanor, and character is truly heartwarming. He knows the play was not just doing something nice for his teammate to demonstrate how they are a true member of a team, but really to do something meaningful to make someone's day and show they support him and have his back. This young teammate Justice has a new mantra in life and will be taking something more from his football experience than just being a "popular, cool, talented wide receiver."

This week's "Grit & Great" can be an important lesson to us all. Not just working through adversity but working together to be great and demonstrating you have someone's back and will be there when things get hard.





Reference: Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M., & Kelly, D. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101.

Word of the Week-REFRESH

Happy Monday!
 It's time to start our Word of the Week challenge. We will provide you with a new word every Monday to be mindful of and focus on throughout the week. We hope you commit to this challenge and focus on this word in every aspect of your life. Leave us a comment and let us know how you used The Word of the Week!

Word of the Week 11/4-11/10: REFRESH 
We should all be feeling REFRESHED after daylight savings time. Let's put that extra hour of the day (or sleep) into action!

November Challenge-Grit & Great

It's November-can you believe it?! I feel November is a time for us to reflect and be thankful for many things. Of course we have Thanksgiving which is a holiday to eat, be merry, and appreciate anything and everything special in our life. My thoughts-why focus on being thankful just one day of the month? The November Challenge will be for you to focus on times when you persevered worked through a challenge and accomplished something GREAT! We challenge you to be thankful for your hard work and experience. Our challenge is to provide you with a weekly story about someone who experienced and represented  "The Grit and Greats."