Coach Tip Tuesday: Give Thanks for Where You Are

Here we are for another round of Coach Tip Tuesday!!

This Thursday is Thanksgiving for all of us U.S.-based athletes.  Keeping in line with the mindset that we should give thanks for the blessings in our lives, I want to focus on giving thanks as athletes.

As athletes, we are always in pursuit of that next challenge, that next goal; as such we are typically looking forward.  In my experience, athletes tend to only focus on the present when they get injured or something goes “wrong.”  I want to encourage you all to adopt a mindset of reflection, self-awareness, and thanks for where you are in the present moment ALL the time, not just when something like an injury makes you stop short and take a look around.

Since we are typically in pursuit of our goals (which are usually specific finish lines or specific finish times), we often neglect to stand in awe of our present selves.  If all we focus on is that finish line or that finish time, then we are missing out on the majority of our athletic experience: the day-to-day work that we’re doing and the collective journey that is a sum of those days.  What really is remarkable is not whether you show up to the start line or make it to the finish line; it’s actually the fact that every single day (even on the mundane or dreary ones) you make a choice to be active, take some time for yourself, and put in the work.  That is something worth celebrating and giving thanks for.

Your body is an amazing, wonderful machine that is able to find a way to do almost every action that you ask of it.  Chances are that you’ve made tremendous gains from the first day that you decided to adopt an active lifestyle.  Yes, there will always, always be room for improvement (and that’s worth striving for), but there is so much worth celebrating TODAY - both for where you are and for where you’ve been.

So during this week when we focus on giving thanks, please be kind to yourselves and give thanks for where you’re at and your ability to aim high and work for your goals.  And, for an added challenge, try to keep this mindset of thankfulness all the year long. :)  Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.