Happy Monday!

My goodness, this past weekend was quite tiring. My team traveled to Marietta, Ohio to race against Marietta College and Purdue University. It was an eight and a half hour drive each way. Race days are so much fun. It's a chance to showcase the team's hard work and see how other teams are doing. For me, there' so much adrenaline and excitement, so it's not surprising that after just a couple of hours at the racing venue, I'm already wiped out. I'm not going to lie... it was quite challenging to pry myself out of my bed this morning. The typical thoughts came into my head: "I hate Mondays." "Why can't I sleep more?" "I'm way too tired." Now, I'm not saying any of these thoughts are bad per say. I just need to remind myself to try to reframe these thoughts into something more positive. For example: "Okay, I know I am really tired. But other people are tired too. I just need to do my best to make sure this week is productive yet fun. It won'y be that hard to do." I know it's hard to go back to school or work after a nice weekend. Weekends were created for fun and rest, but if we put too much of an emphasis on them, it makes it harder to enjoy each day, especially Mondays. Try to focus on doing your very best work for today. If you keep committing to giving your very best effort for each day, the weekend will be here soon enough. So have an absolutely spectacular day (and week) and remember to stay grateful and positive!
Love Always,
Chloe

Mantras

Almost all great athletes have at least one mantra they tell themselves while they're practicing, training and competing or performing. It's a few positive affirmative words that help them get through the difficulties and pain of intense dedication and training. As an athlete, I can definitely tell you about how much mental toughness, physical fitness, humility, and drive or perseverance it takes to excel in your sport. However, many of the same principles that I just listed are not only needed for sports but for life in general. We all want to be humble, dedicated, strong, and positive people. We have jobs and relationships that depend upon those things. So I think having a mantra to recite to yourself while you're having a rough day at the office, or trying so hard to study for that huge test, or preparing for a crucial presentation, or for just really bad days, it so beneficial. So how do you create a mantra? Maybe some of these tips I've gathered over the past few years can help.

1.) Try to avoid negatives such as: "DON'T worry" or "NO regrets" or "NEVER give up" even though these examples are trying to make you feel better, and are great things to focus on, they use negative words. If you like the idea these examples give off, then try to rephrase the mantra so you there is a positive word instead.

2.) Keep it short and simple. It won't do much help if you forget all the words in your mantra because it's too long. Anywhere from 3-5 words is plenty and still beneficial

3.) Try to tell your loved ones and others you trust/look up to what your personal mantra is. If your family members, best friends, mentors, etc. know exactly what gets you motivated, inspired and/or encouraged, then it will only work to your benefit. It's nice to have someone you love be able to encourage you just how you want to be shown support.

4.) If the mantra you choose starts to lose its power, then it's okay to change it. Life is always a rough draft and nothing has to be final. Revisions are a good thing. 

For anyone who is wondering, as of right now, I have a few personal mantras. They all work for when I'm in my athlete mind and while I'm outside of sports. Here they are. And you are more than welcome to use them for yourself if they work for you. I just thought I'd share.

-I can and I will.

-I was built tough

-Fighter till the end

Again, if these inspired you, please feel free to use them for yourself. It's not stealing, it's sharing.

Expressive Writing

Okay, so it's no secret that I love writing. (hence the blog) For me, writing is a way to escape the chaos and stress in my personal life. We all know that life can give us a lot, sometimes it feels like more than we can handle. But according to a social psychologist by the name of James Pennebaker, writing or expressive writing, as it is called, has been shown to change the pattern of negative thinking, allows for personal, authentic, and healthy expression of feelings/emotions, decrease emotional trauma, and even decrease the viral load for individuals who suffer from HIV/AIDS. Think about all those benefits! A lot of times, we can all become so focused on only what it going wrong/bad in our lives. Sure, I know life demands a lot. We do need to vent and process or sort things out, but it has to be done in a healthy way. Sitting in a corner of the room, and ruminating about everything that needs to get better, actually only makes things worse. Maybe start to turn to a journal or diary. It's one safe place to confide in without worrying about someone sharing confidential information.

Expressive writing works best if you find a quiet, calm place where there are no distractions. Then write about how you are feeling, what is going on in your life, concerns, etc. for about 15 minutes. It may seem like way too much time, but use each second. And if you run out of things to write about, just start writing what you've already written again until 15 minutes are up. Just don't stop writing! Expressive writing also works best if you journal or write consistently (at least 4 times a week). For me, I write every day because I've realized I feel more relaxed and generally happier. You could also write about what you are thankful for. Gratitude helps us realize that maybe, just maybe things aren't so bad as we originally made them up to be. Yeah, maybe you're stressed, bot a huge paper or exam, got a huge interview or presentation. There's a job or money or grades at risk but maybe by thinking of all the things that are going well in your life, will help decrease anxiety.

I hope this information helps you feel more at ease. There's nothing fun about living with anxiety, negativity and or depression. It hurts, I know. I have to always remind myself to always think positively. I know I often need to be told over and over and over again, that my life isn't really bad. No matter how many things seem like they're falling apart, there's always something to be thankful for. Life is full of many things to appreciate. Even if they're just small things. At least it's a start to living a more positive lifestyle.

In case ya'll wanted to take a closer look at James Pennebaker and his research with expressive writing, Here's a link to an article from University of Texas at Austin: https://www.utexas.edu/features/2005/writing/