Get your head out of routine

Life can get pretty routine.  Which is nice because we don’t have to think too hard about things.

The problem is when we don’t think about things we aren’t engaging as much in our lives and we tend to stay on auto-pilot.

While at an athletic training symposium this week, I heard a talk on sport psychology from an ATC who works with elite athletes.  He mentioned that everyone has a super bowl they are training for.  When an athlete goes down with an ACL tear, their eyes get fixed on getting back on the field, or winning a championship on a restored and healed leg.

We “regular folk” aren’t necessarily playing a competitive sport.  But we are in the game of life.

““The game of life has two participants, players and spectators.  Pick one.” ”

— unknown

Good athlete’s don’t get that way because they sat around thinking about it.  They got better and excelled because they took action on a daily basis with tenacity to fight for it.

How much have you side-lined your personal goals and dreams because of a nagging injury, or fear of putting yourself out there to accept a physical challenge?

There is always a way to find victory in your pursuit toward your own Super Bowl moment:  

1)   Get empowered: Find a way to get inspired and find hope again.  This step is one of the hardest, and yet in the end the most simple.  Say yes to taking the first step. You are capable.

2)   Fail:  There is no better way to get over your fear than to fail and realize you can get through it.  Failure is what helps you learn.  It’s not a weakness.

3)   Celebrate your milestones:  Find ways to reward yourself with the little things. Never miss an opportunity to find appreciation for progress.

4)   Surround yourself with the Positive: Constantly reinforce your positive thinking by finding people who will encourage you, listen to inspiring music or podcasts, or share your journey with social media as a way to document how far you are going and to get accountability to reach your finish line.

5)   Lean into the Magic: you have to be in constant touch with your hopes and dreams. Keep your vision and your super bowl moment top of mind by creating vision boards, putting pictures on your screen savers, talking and reading about it with whomever will listen.

“Capacity, audacity, and tenacity will take you to your mountaintop” –Robin Sharma, author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari series.

Your dreams and goals are worth pursuing.  If you need a helping hand to get started, give me a buzz and I will help you create your first action steps!

What's The First Thing You Do Every Morning?

Just as we've mentioned (lots and lots) how crucial getting enough sleep is, what you do first thing in the morning can often set the tone for the rest of your day. It can affect your mood and your behaviors for the following hours. What's the first thing you do every morning?

Do you:

• Check your e-mail?
• Run to wakeup the kids?
• Drink coffee?
• Check Facebook or other social media?
• Read the news?

What if you were to set your alarm for literally 5 minutess earlier and spend 5 extra minutes doing something that could really positively affect the rest of your day? It could lead to a more productive work day, keep your stress levels regulated, lead to a better workout, help your food cravings even! We'd love for you (if you don't do it already!) to add in one of these listed below or something similar that would jumpstart you in the right direction.

Try:

• Journaling for 5 mins about ANYTHING! A dream you had, an interaction you had from the day before you want to remember, your goals for the day, organizing your day, etc.
• Taking the time to listen to a favorite, motivational song that makes you feel like you can conquer the world! You can do this in between hitting the snooze buttons while you're still in bed!
• A 5 min meditation, this can be a guided recording or not and you can even stay laying in bed if you'd like! We think you'll end up loving this so much that you may end up choosing to wake up earlier for a little longer of a meditation.
• If you're not quite ready for meditation, take a few deep breaths and simply repeat a mantra you enjoy. THEN, hop out of bed! 
• Stepping out of bed and doing some gentle stretching right in your bedroom. Very gentle light stretches would be perfect; as easy as reaching up towards the sky with a deep breath in while lengthening your spine and then folding over letting your breath out. If you'd prefer, you can even stay in bed, laying flat on your back pulling one knee towards your chest at a time to start.

5 simple extra minutes in the morning can truly make a difference in how the rest of your day goes. Taking the time to center yourself and be present first thing in the morning  can bring a whole new outlook; the point is to take a few extra minutes for yourself to feel whole, reassured and happy. Give it a try! If you'd like some more guidance on some tools to use for your new morning routine, please feel free to reach out to us.