I hope that you are doing well, staying physically distant, but socially connected.
Are you at home all day, with a little (or a lot) of time on your hands? Is it just now sinking in that this is “temporary normal” is not going to be over tomorrow?
As a mindset coach, you come here for expert advice. While I can’t fix this situation, I hope you find some food for thought. A way to begin to shift your perspective if you desire.
It’s been a few weeks since the majority of the rinks closed.
- Reality has started to sink in. School has moved online and the rinks are still closed.
- It is natural for athletes to start to worry and wonder, “What will this do to my future?”
- With this worry comes a lack of motivation. “I know I should be doing something, but I don’t feel like it.” Or a lack of direction. “What do I do?” “How do I do it?”
Find Your Motivation
If you are searching for your mojo, here are a few questions that might help you:
1. Imagine it is 1 or 2 or XX months from now and the rinks have just opened up again.
You are sitting on the bench lacing up your skates again for the first time in forever.
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- You look back to your time off the ice when the rinks were closed. Ask yourself, “Am I satisfied with how I spent my time?
- Do you have any regrets? What are they?
2. Fast forward decades from now. You are sitting around the table with your family.
Your grandchildren ask you: “Granny (or Papa) what was it like during that terrible COVID-19 pandemic?”
What will you say?
- I lay on the couch and binge watched Netflix.
- I sat around twiddling my thumbs and being angry that I could not skate.
- I was mad and upset. I constantly worried about how far behind the XXX (country) skaters I would be because they still had ice…while we didn’t.
3. What story would you like to tell?
Write the Story You Want to Tell
Right now you are creating the stories that you will tell about yourself in the future.
You are in charge of the story you create. If you don’t like what you have “written” so far, now is the time to change it.
It is my hope that boosting your mental skills is one of the “want to dos” on your list.
It is common for skaters to focus on what they don’t have. To spend time being upset that they can’t jump or can’t do this today.
Strong mental skills means that you face adversity, with curiosity. Like a scientist out to discover something, anything.
- What can I do?
- What can I learn?
- If I did this, then…
- That’s not what I wanted. How can I adapt? Who can I ask?
Adapt and Improvise
Mental flexibility and adaptability is important for everyone, especially competitive athletes.
Here’s a situation many athletes are familiar with:
1. You are recovering from an injury and can’t jump yet. Do you wait to get back on the ice until you can jump?
No. You work on other things like spins or edges.
2. At competition, after warm up the power goes out and your event is delayed by 2 hours. Do you give up and go home?
No. You adapt. You warm up again when the power comes back on and skate your event.
If You Keep Doing the Same Thing, Don’t Expect Different Results
The rinks are closed. If you can’t be on the ice, adapt. Work on other aspects of your training.
The reality is that if you were frustrated, angry or unsatisfied with your progress before the rinks closed, when you get back on the ice, those problems eventually come back if you haven’t worked on them.
Still not motivated? Your competition is. There are a few skaters out there who not only attend video sessions that their coaches set up, but are also working on the less obvious, but essential skills.
Things that will give them the edge. No, they are not glamorous, but they make up the strong foundation to build on.
This is a sample:
- Tune up their body with sleep, good nutrition and hydration.
- Improve their mental skills. Using the situation now to learn and practice resilience.
- Work on stabilizer muscles and core strength.
These few athletes will hit the ice “running.” This foresight will push them to the head of the pack in the future.
Why work on mental skills training now when you are not on the ice?
If not now, then when?
Now is the best time. Not when you are deep into competition season.
What if you started now?
You would be farther down the path to a bulletproof mindset when you need it.
You would be better able to tackle adversity head on this season.
Mental skills training can help to keep your emotions on an even keel so that you can practice and compete your best.
Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.