Emily Hambleton – The Power of Personal Strength & Determination

Emily Hambleton – The Power of Personal Strength & Determination

by | Journeys

Talk about personal strength and determination!  It never ceases to fill me with inspiration to read about people who feel low, lost, and overwhelmed and fight back against those feelings. 

Here’s my scenario: I picture them as a boxer in a corner of a boxing ring, with their coach whispering to them. The bell goes, and they leave their corner.   They are faced with their opponent, and their feelings. They’ve faced this opponent previously, and somehow the opponent keeps winning. Something has changed, they are physically and mentally tired of those feelings and have decided they are not going to let them win, again. They are determined to stand their ground, face their opponent, come out swinging, and win! Emily’s Story reminded me of this scenario that sometimes plays in my mind’s eye.  Her own determination and personal strength shine through.  Tracy, Emily’s coach, gave her a hand with a little ‘boxing strategy’.

Tracy Dean is a world-class runner and her running CV can be considered ‘quite impressive’. It stretches from representing Great Britain as a member of the GB Ultra Running team, being the 2013 UK’s Trail Running Champion, and finishing 7th in the world in the 2018 World Champion 24hr Race in Romania. The race was running a 1.2k loop for 24hrs!! All this, and coming 8th female in the 2017 Ultra Trail Mont Blanc’s CCC, a 100k trail race crossing the Italian, Swiss, and French Alps,  along with too many 1st and 2nd places to mention, rightly gives a huge impression that Tracy knows how to train physically, mentally,  is clued into nutrition, and is rather, you could say…determined! Her philosophy is:

‘You are who you believe you are, you will achieve whatever you tell yourself you can achieve, you become all that you tell yourself you will be. You are the best version of yourself right now and you are moving forward to become the greatest version of yourself for the rest of your life’.

Tracy has a fundamental belief that people can change, and as a personal trainer has applied her knowledge, and experience of physical/mental training and nutrition to helping others reach their potential.

Emily’s Story

It was September 2018 and I was off work following a huge decline in my mental health. I was in a very dark place and got diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety. I was on over 7 different medications and I couldn’t wake up without having a panic attack. Getting dressed was an effort and I longed for a day where I didn’t feel terrified or had the feeling that I was going insane.

My sister had a membership at the gym and convinced me to sign up. I couldn’t think of anything worse. I had put on 6 stone following the death of my dad when I was 17 and I was unbelievably self-conscious so I couldn’t help thinking that putting myself in this environment would make me worse. However, a week later I found myself walking on the treadmill after taking 2 hours to even walk into the gym. I spent the whole of that walk crying so my sister suggested going to a class. I was willing to try anything to help my panic attacks so I reluctantly agreed to the provision that I could stay at the back in case I wanted to get out. The next day I found myself standing at the back of the class crippled by fear waiting for it to start. The class was led by Tracy Dean and this was the first time I’d ever met her. She smiled at me and started the class and before I knew it I had completed my first ever gym class.

To this day I still don’t know what made me do it but I told my sister to go and ask Tracy if she did personal training. I signed up that day with her and from that day my life changed forever.

I began to look forward to my weekly training session and it was something to focus on. The weight began to drop off and I was learning new techniques to help my anxiety attacks.

Around two months into my journey, I began running. I’d always dreamed of being a runner but never thought I could do it but the feeling of getting outside and running with the wind in my face was like no other feeling I’ve ever had before and soon the panic attacks were getting less and less. I struggled massively at the beginning of running. I’d panic the second I got out of breath, I didn’t understand the concept of warming up so I’d think I couldn’t do it after a few minutes of running, I hated road running because I thought everyone was staring at ‘the fat girl running’ and had horrendous shin splints and hip pain from running with so much excess weight.

However, I pushed on and each week I was addicted to getting better and seeing results. I couldn’t run for more than 10 seconds when I first started. Last week I achieved my longest run which was 9 miles.

I’m so excited to progress, enter races and take my running to the next level. That was 18 months ago.

Now, my life is so different. I never envisioned it. Instead of turning to food as a comfort, if I feel anxious, stressed or scared I lace up my pumps, headphones in and I go for a long run. I absolutely love pushing myself and have recently factored in a weekly track session. From 20-30 daily panic attacks I haven’t had a big one in over 6 months and if I feel one coming on I run it off.

I am also now off all medications, I’m over 50lbs down and have my first proper challenge planned!

On the 28th August 2020 I will be attempting the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge to raise money for the staff wellbeing team in A&E. I am an A&E Nurse and have been in awe of my colleagues during the pandemic, many will suffer from PTSD as a result of this pandemic so I would like to give back to my department. The challenge will consist of 3 peaks, 24 miles in less than 12 hours. This will be my biggest challenge to date and I am thoroughly enjoying my training for this and pushing myself every week on the mountains.  

If I hadn’t taken the step of getting such an amazing coach like Tracy Dean I dread to think what my life would be like. Right now, I am the happiest I’ve ever been, the fittest, the strongest and I’m getting better every single week. My goals are in reach and my confidence is increasing every week.

2 years ago I didn’t see a way out. 

Today I wake up every morning with a smile on face excited for the next adventure. Running has 100% changed my life.  Just take the first step, lace up your pumps and the rest will be history.

Such an inspirational story!

If you would like to find out more about Tracy Dean you can contact her on Facebook or by visiting Tracy Dean Coaching ultraendurancecoaching.com

Rochelle

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Disclaimer: Run Body Run is an online magazine that shares events and services related to fitness, health and well-being that may be of interest to our followers. Please note Run Body Run is not affiliated in any way with the pages or people whose stories and recipes are shared in our articles. However, this article may contain affiliate links for products that we feature on our Recommended Products Page. We only endorse products we use and truly believe in. If you are interested in any events, products or businesses mentioned, please contact the companies and organisers directly for full information. If you feel that parts of this blog relate to you and you’d like to discuss this further, please fill out the form on our contact page.

An inspirational interview with Omaima Mohammad discussing the challenges, stigma & cultural hurdles she faced when losing weight

An inspirational interview with Omaima Mohammad discussing the challenges, stigma & cultural hurdles she faced when losing weight

by | Journeys

OMAIMA MOHAMMAD’S JOURNEY: 

In this interview with Omaima Mohammad (47 at the time of the interview) talks inspirationally about the challenges, stigmas, social constructs and cultural hurdles she faced when she decided to lose weight in April 2016.  She explains how through physical training, nutrition, mindset, and sheer determination she was able to transform herself both mentally and physically becoming a desert trail runner, and an extraordinary role model for her children, family and anyone else reading this!

Q. What is your name?
Omaima Mohammad

Q. Where are you from and your place of birth?
Sudan / UAE

Q. Kindly brief us about yourself.
A single mother of two daughters (13 & 6 years old at the time of the interview) who have a passion for reading, writing (poems, short articles) and listening to western classical music besides my biggest passion for running.

Strictly following simplicity in my life, starting from clothes, food, entertainment and methods within my family/community circle.
Very focused & following “fewer options” method. “Less stuff, more happiness”.
My favourite colour is Yellow & my favourite flower is Lavender.
Many books have touched my inner soul & affected my thinking, but the most significant are ‘Arabian Sands for Wilfred Thesiger’ and ‘The Forty Rules of Love for Elif Shafak’.

Q. What is your current profession?
Banker / Credit Control Manager at Risk Dept.

Q. What was the trigger for starting the weight loss initiative?
Once I was dropping my daughter to her classroom at school and I was walking slowly as I was always feeling tired, I realized at that particular moment that I can’t close my arms properly due to the fat. At that precise moment, it triggered me that I could not see any future with my kids if I continued being obese.

I decided to take action and change it. With the heavyweight, I have always felt that this person wasn’t me. I couldn’t in many occasion deeply touch my deep soul as a person. I couldn’t find myself. All that made me sad, day by day, and year by year… it was just increasing and not decreasing.

Q. What difficulties faced during the weight-loss period?
Community restraints: I used to run with my Abaya as I felt shy to wear a sports outfit with my huge physical size. So, I came up with an idea to wear lighter weight Abaya so it wouldn’t increase weight while running (silk material). Also, I had cut it up to the knee so I wouldn’t trip. Running with such “weird” outfit gave a chance to some people to giggle and point at me as I used to run in Neighborhood Park.  Besides, running as a sport wasn’t that familiar 5 years back as today.

Family restraints: As a working mother, I have always had a limited time to my own self without feeling guilty about it. So, I had to scarify my sleeping time so as not to sacrifice family time. Unfortunately, the support by x partner faded quickly, especially after I increased my participation in formal races.

Fear: Fear of failure. Fear of regaining what I loose was always there (and still is). Although I understood seeking comfort triggers my ‘comfort eating’, I couldn’t manage it.  I was always relating to how my emotions are. If I was sad, then I eat continuously with no restrictions.

Huge lack of nutrition information: I did not have the education about the food or even about how my body is functioning. All this built up only after I took a coach for my running in April 2016.

Q How were you able to cope with peer pressure or social pressure?
Both handled with tremendous difficulties.

Q Did you have any inspiration or stimulation which/who helped you focus?
Retaining my kids to stay with me is my biggest and single stimulation. I soon figured out that the more my physique is controlled and in athletic form, the more my mind is clear and overall stronger.

Q. Was there any moment that you wanted to quit or you had felt weak?
Always! To take away or to control the only comfortable way I know and my body has been addicted to (comfort eating) wasn’t fun at all. Since 2012 and I’ve been losing and regaining weight. Not only 2 or 3 or even 5 or 10 kilos but tens of kilos.

Q. Was there any withdrawal symptoms faced when you tried to avoid certain items on the diet?
I did not have a diet plan. I ate everything but the idea was to minimize the quantity. My coach taught me not to be afraid of food and to see it is just a fuel for the body to move. It was difficult to adopt such thinking, but I tried hard until I accepted to treat food as my friend and not my enemy. Although I had to totally avoid or take a lesser quantity of the regular things which would make me fat such as sugar, pasta, and bread.

Q. Was there any external support or helpful factor (person/thing) that kept you motivated?
Yes my Coach, Mr Lee Harris continuously & unconditionally. The better my athletic life was getting & achievements met, the more I am motivated.

Q. How has this change benefited you?
It definitely benefits me in all life aspects significantly on 2 levels; inner level and outer level.

Starting from the most important which is self-respect & believing in self, to be capable of achieving goals. It opened my thinking and mind to how beautiful the natural world is.   Also, I learned how to focus and how to put a long term plan into action.

The external factor is that people changed how they looked at me and showed greater admiration and respect. My voice became heard. Although a physical look shouldn’t matter, this is honestly how it does work in our world.  Also, it benefits me both at home and work, as I became more active in doing things.

Q Briefly explain how was your journey to success in achieving the target?
Painful, needed lots of sacrifices, time-consuming, money consuming, heavy concentration needed; but definitely, the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Q How important is it to be fit and healthy for one’s life?
Extremely.
Being healthy and fit = high self-esteem = inner genuine happiness & satisfaction = better personal, career, & living lifestyle.

Q Do you have any message to the people around you regarding the importance of fitness?
Yes. Fitness is not a fancy lifestyle, fitness is your whole life as a normal individual. It is SO important as it doesn’t only shape your body, but it opens your thinking and mental. It feeds your soul and the most important it gives you the solo time you need daily for your own self; which ultimately helps you to love yourself more.

Q How did the transformation period affect your family life?
I was trying to have a minimum impact around family or in the house. I tried my best to balance. Balancing is the keyword. I try to utilize my time only in 3 main things: my training, my house and kids, and my work. I don’t do other stuff which might occupy my thinking or my time. I live a very, very, very simple life. Time-wise, financially, socially etc.

Q What’s the impact of your new lifestyle on your children?
They love the “happy” version of me. When I get upset now, they ask me to go for an extra run!

They sense that I am more focused and I don’t pressurize our small family with unnecessary traditional stuff such as family visiting obligations, frequent birthday parties, etc.

I try to teach them to CHOOSE and minimize their preferable options so they can FOCUS on them.

Republished courtesy Omaima Mohammad – Originally published in the magazine Outdoor UAE

 

Rochelle

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Disclaimer: Run Body Run is an online magazine that shares events and services related to fitness, health and well-being that may be of interest to our followers. Please note Run Body Run is not affiliated in any way with the pages or people whose stories and recipes are shared in our articles. However, this article may contain affiliate links for products that we feature on our Recommended Products Page. We only endorse products we use and truly believe in. If you are interested in any events, products or businesses mentioned, please contact the companies and organisers directly for full information. If you feel that parts of this blog relate to you and you’d like to discuss this further, please fill out the form on our contact page.

Chasing The Dolphins!

Chasing The Dolphins!

by | Journeys

Pam’s story:

After suffering months and months of bullying behaviour at the hands of my boss, I was feeling very low, fragile, and mentally exhausted.  No one, including myself, would stand up to this bully and eventually, having decided I could not stay in such a toxic work environment, I walked out of my very senior well-paid job. I walked out on my career, and straight into the doctors’ office as I knew I was about to have a breakdown. I can only explain the breakdown feeling as if I was in an emotional black hole of sadness. I was constantly crying and was experiencing the world as just a bleak place. I was prescribed antidepressants and advised to “drink plenty of water and get more exercise.

Whilst off work, and after a few months of taking antidepressants, I did begin to feel a bit better.  I was less weepy, sleeping better and had the motivation to take small steps and get my life back. I found an online competition to train with 2 personal trainers for 8 weeks to take up the ‘Couch to 5k’ running challenge which they held in the local forest. I didn’t want to go out and meet people, I just wanted to be active again. This felt doable. I entered and won the competition!  

It was then I discovered how wonderful it felt to run, or walk when necessary, through dirt, trees, up and downhills.  The fresh air felt rejuvenating.  Each week I went a little further and felt I was achieving something.  Each time I ran, my mood lifted.  I felt better, more positive, and my husband noticed a change in me. “It must be those dolphins”.  We nicknamed those often talked about feel-good endorphins ‘dolphins’.  Running helped me become stronger both mentally and physically.  It was key to my recovery.

What running also did was teach me to set myself challenges, so six months later,  when I was offered redundancy,  I happily took it as I had no desire to be in a toxic work environment and now, my husband and I gratefully have a successful business.  That ‘little bit further’ I ran each week in the forest motivated me to trek 2 marathons in 2 days in the Sahara Desert. Trekking the Sahara is nothing I ever thought I would do, as it never crossed my mind!  As my spirits lifted, it seemed like a good idea!  The trek was organised by Action Challenge, a company that specialises in creating challenging adventures which allow you to ‘push yourself and find your own personal reward’.  I found mine… a huge sense of belief in myself, determination and accomplishment. I raised money for Mind, the mental health charity as well. 

Since then I have continued to run regularly. I do not take any medication now as trail running is my anti-depressant. When I run, I always feel energised afterwards. It lifts my spirits. I never thought when I was in such a low place that I would ever recover my self-esteem. Running has definitely given me that back. An added bonus is all the lovely people I have met through trail running. Everyone loves those “dolphins!”. 

Rochelle

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Disclaimer: Run Body Run is an online magazine that shares events and services related to fitness, health and well-being that may be of interest to our followers. Please note Run Body Run is not affiliated in any way with the pages or people whose stories and recipes are shared in our articles. However, this article may contain affiliate links for products that we feature on our Recommended Products Page. We only endorse products we use and truly believe in. If you are interested in any events, products or businesses mentioned, please contact the companies and organisers directly for full information. If you feel that parts of this blog relate to you and you’d like to discuss this further, please fill out the form on our contact page.

Moving to England from New York when I was 23 brought huge change 

Moving to England from New York when I was 23 brought huge change 

by | Journeys

The Long Walk (Windsor, England) Photo Credit: Rochelle Bell

Leaving New York for England in 1985, I only saw the excitement in everything that could be.  For someone who loves to jump in at the deep end of experiences, I was in my element. I would get to learn about people, a different culture, (even though we shared the same language) understand different points of view regarding the world, make new friends and throw myself into living English everyday life.  I would also be surrounded by ‘that accent’! The day after my last exam at college, I left the US. I left my parents, sister, brother, grandparents, friends, cat and my employment; basically, anything that was familiar to me! I arrived in beautiful Windsor, was in awe of the castle sitting right in the middle of town and was filled with a huge sense of adventure which I thrived off. I loved the pub, Sunday roast dinners, and understood the acerbic humour.  Navigating and adapting to English life was a fun challenge, but there is a flip side to everything.

The flip side

Familiarity and routine ceased to exist for me.  My everyday life changed and there were no familiar safe friendship groups or family relationships to hand.  The everyday essentials and choices I was used to such as food in the supermarkets, 13 TV channels providing me with lots of entertainment, tumble dryers (remember this was 1985!), Levis, pepperoni pizza, shops staying open late, and showers were gone.  Even finding an automatic car was an undertaking. I ended up with a little green mini with its steering wheel in the wrong place and with a choke, I continually broke. Driving on the opposite side of the road was novel and very scary! I had a few driving lessons, and in typical English, manner was asked by the instructor, very politely, “What side of the road are we on?”  Since I was busy concentrating, I responded with “Huh?”, I was then yelled at to get on the correct side! The English humour, which did make me laugh, could also make me feel somewhat low, lonely, daunted, anxious, unsure and insecure because it is filled with sarcasm, irony, and – let’s be honest – offence. (Apparently, it means, they like you – who knew?!) At the time, it was difficult to not take it personally as I was 22 years old, learning to be me,  learning how to adapt to a new culture and wanting to do the right thing while trying to appear cool, calm, collected, and sophisticated.

Routine is good

In New York, I had a routine. I would wake up, go to college, work, finish my day at Lucille Roberts, the local new aerobics studio, go home or see friends. Nothing wildly exciting, just a structure to my day and knowing what was going to happen. Knowing I was not enjoying the emotions I was now feeling, I decided the best thing for me was to recreate my routine as best I could because then, perhaps, I wouldn’t have thoughts/behaviours that included: excessive worry, restlessness, staying asleep, loneliness, and an increasing lack of self-confidence, which I now understand was anxiety. Routine seemed an instinctive thing to do to make myself feel better.

Routine is a good thing. However humdrum it may seem to prioritise routine over spontaneity, since spontaneity can be great fun, it really can be useful because routine is comforting. The research behind this says that when we organize ourselves and know what to expect, it’s easier to actively work towards counteracting the thoughts and symptoms of mental health issues like depression, bipolar, and for me, anxiety/isolation.

Journey to running

That’s where my journey to running began. Having no spare cash to join the one fitness studio in Windsor, I replaced those workouts with running because it was free.

Wake up, get out of bed, walk up to Windsor Castles magnificent, sometimes intimidating Long Walk with its 2.65 miles/4.2k avenues of trees and go for a run. Return to my flat, have a bath, dress in jeans that I had ironed, get in my little mini which I still continually broke, drive to a new job and make new friends.   I began to feel more settled as my morning routine developed. I knew what was going to happen (mostly), and it helped remove feelings of anxiety. The act of having a routine and making things familiar helped me to remember the previous me. I was taking control and I was getting back to my somewhat confident self – as much as you can be at 22.

With this new routine, I realised how much of a difference running made to me physically and mentally. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t very good at running or got stitches in my side, or that I didn’t go very far.  After a run, I felt brighter, more energised, and more confident. These feelings helped me to adapt to my new life and handle English humour. As I felt more sure of myself and mentally stronger, my running improved. The stitches went away, I ran further, longer and I started to set myself small running goals. The Long Walk and running became my constant companion for the last 33 years when life is throwing me curveballs, and I need to ‘get routine’.

All these years later, it’s fascinating for me to scroll through social media and view all that is posted about running and mental health. When I felt anxious, lonely, and isolated, I thought I was the only one. I believed every other person in the world was more confident, witty, outgoing, happy and socially skilled than I was. I believed anybody could handle anything better than I could, even if it involved moving countries and starting a different life. My personal thought is ‘How times have changed!!’ It appears the feeling and emotions I experienced, and sometimes still do are common! All those years ago, it was not expected to voice these thoughts, but now you can! And what’s more… it’s ok. 

I came across Run Talk Run whilst researching mental health, running and exercise on the internet.  I knew I wanted to be part of it. If RTR had existed, I would have joined. I would have loved to be part of a community that provides no judgement; only friendship, warmth, support, laughter, and camaraderie.  Since becoming an RTR run leader, I found however small my group may be on the day, there’s lots of light-hearted laughter, silliness, eagerness to catch up on our busy weeks with aspirations voiced as to where people want their running, and their life to take them. The best part is, knowing you aren’t alone, we all speak the same language.

 

Rochelle

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Disclaimer: Run Body Run is an online magazine that shares events and services related to fitness, health and well-being that may be of interest to our followers. Please note Run Body Run is not affiliated in any way with the pages or people whose stories and recipes are shared in our articles. However, this article may contain affiliate links for products that we feature on our Recommended Products Page. We only endorse products we use and truly believe in. If you are interested in any events, products or businesses mentioned, please contact the companies and organisers directly for full information. If you feel that parts of this blog relate to you and you’d like to discuss this further, please fill out the form on our contact page.

Alice Morrison – BBC Breakfast Interview on her Sahara Expedition

Alice Morrison – BBC Breakfast Interview on her Sahara Expedition

by | Journeys

Alice Morrison – Adventurer, TV Presenter, Journalist and Author, who has written for RunBodyRun about her interesting and inspiring story to change her life, has given an interview on BBC breakfast to talk about exploring and in particular her expedition to the Sahara!⁠ Click here to watch the video

⁠Photo & Video Credit: Alice Morrison

For more on Alice: www.alicemorrison.co.uk

Her books including the latest about her new life in Morocco including the Marathon des Sables, My 1001 Nights, are available on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-1001-Nights-Adventures-Morocco/dp/1471174255

 

Rochelle

Did you find this article interesting? Visit our other sections Mind & Body, Inspirational Life Journeys & Recipes to read more!

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Disclaimer: Run Body Run is an online magazine that shares events and services related to fitness, health and well-being that may be of interest to our followers. Please note Run Body Run is not affiliated in any way with the pages or people whose stories and recipes are shared in our articles. However, this article may contain affiliate links for products that we feature on our Recommended Products Page. We only endorse products we use and truly believe in. If you are interested in any events, products or businesses mentioned, please contact the companies and organisers directly for full information. If you feel that parts of this blog relate to you and you’d like to discuss this further, please fill out the form on our contact page.

The Wisdom of Corporate Athletes: Becoming Your Own Best Self in Business & in Life

The Wisdom of Corporate Athletes: Becoming Your Own Best Self in Business & in Life

by | Journeys

Becoming your own best self in business & in life? We all want to be our best selves and our happiest selves don’t we?

When I learned about Dr.Jim Loehr, a world-renowned performance psychologist who has more than 30 years of experience and applied research, and his work theorizing that business executives, who are required to consistently perform at high levels, should train like “corporate athletes,” I was totally fascinated.

What is a Corporate Athlete?
We all know professional athletes have to practice their primary skill…A LOT.

For golfers, this is swinging a golf club and perfecting their form. For baseball players, this is years of pitching, catching, or batting. But, in addition to these primary skills, professional athletes are also working on their endurance, strength, flexibility, self-control, and focus. Ultimately, to reach their optimum level of performance they have to combine their emotional and mental competencies with their years of physical training. In doing this, that’s when they’re at the top of their game.

The same applies to business executives who have a primary skill as a super seller or a top negotiator. When they utilize their secondary skills like strength, flexibility (literally and figuratively), endurance, self-control, and focus, they continually improve at work while simultaneously enhancing their health and happiness.

Improving and working to change our lives takes a certain dedication. Diving in deep to Loehr’s research, I couldn’t help but think at Run Body Run we could all use some advice to keep in mind as we’re stepping into our own best selves.

If you’re ready to become your own best self in business and in life, you need to enhance your training with more than just physical workouts.

Use these 3 tips as you journey on:

1) Old Habits Die Hard + Bad Days Happen

I’m putting this one right at the top. Making big life changes takes effort. Even extremely motivated individuals are going to have setbacks—and that includes you.

Your brain is hard-wired to keep doing things the way you’ve always been doing things. This may be years and years of learned behaviour you’re working to change. Since you’re going for new goals and optimal performance, it’s time to start re-wiring your brain.

Neuroscience teaches us that neural pathways, which are comprised of neurons connected by dendrites, are based on our habits and behaviours. The more a behaviour is performed, the more dendrites there are. It takes about 10,000 repetitions to develop a neural pathway and master a skill.

Making new neural pathways in the brain takes dedication, and it’s totally possible and worth it.

Bad days do happen. Your sunny disposition may deteriorate for no reason. All your best-laid plans and intentions may end up on a back burner simmering away instead. Everything you wanted to do is replaced with the processes and procedures that can be life, you forget to bring the lunch you were looking forward too, and just grab what you can… Maybe you can’t squeeze in your workout.

It’s okay to say, “This is really crap,” and get on with it. Professional or corporate athletes aren’t perfect performers and neither are we.

I’ve learned that when I accept that things aren’t going according to plan, I can start to go with the flow.

Remember, tomorrow is always a new day.

2) Positive Rituals are Powerful

A ritual is one way of making an everyday moment a ceremony. Rituals are moments for reflection. They’re a “pause button” in the day to really take in the moment. The ritual may stay the same, and yet you’re able to witness your own changing self.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Music soothes the savage beast”? For me, music is always part of my ritual. When I get home, I always like to put on some music (usually hippie music that’s older than I am…), light my “fragrance of the month” candle, wash my face, and get to cooking in the kitchen.

Rituals are customizable—your rituals don’t have to look like mine. To determine your own best rituals, ask yourself these questions:

  • What calms me down?
  • What brings me joy?
  • What am I doing when I’m my happiest self?
  • Where do I like to find meaning?
  • What time in the day am I most open for a moment of reflection?

Answering these questions can connect you to activities that may influence your own unique rituals.

3) Find Your Support System

When you’re working to implement new strategies and routines, finding those people who are supportive of you and the changes you want to make is wildly effective.

In Loehr’s research, they asked hundreds of athletes how they felt when they were performing at their best. Guess what was at the top of this list? Feeling good.

Loehr writes in the Harvard Business Review, “Invariably, they used words such as ‘calm,’ ‘challenged,’ ‘engaged,’ ‘focused,’ ‘optimistic,’ and ‘confident.’”

Mindset is a huge component of stepping into your own best self. And, sometimes we need a little help. Life isn’t meant to be lived on your own.

A community can connect us to one another enhancing our positive emotions. Positivity ignites performance and quells negative emotions, which can physically affect our heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and vision.

Team up with other motivated, driven, and positive individuals, especially those people who make you feel happy. Joining a gym, finding an accountability partner, or simply spending more time with people who you care about and who care about you can make a world of difference.

When you think about people you really enjoy spending time with, who comes to mind?

In the end, becoming your own best self is about progress—not perfection, and it starts with small, simple actions.
Enjoy implementing these powerful strategies into your life and reaping the benefits that are bound to come!

Another story you might like: Moving to England from New York when I was 23 brought huge change 

 

Rochelle

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