Creating Community
Last week I attended the Girls Gone Graveling Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas. I witnessed and was part of connection and community which is the antidote to loneliness and isolation. On the first night, Kristi Mohn facilitated a panel of Brooke Goudy, Marely Blonsky, Abi Robins. They are leading the way for inclusion and belonging in the gravel space. I forget if it was Brooke or Marley, but one said to pull out a chair for others. Let’s create space, let’s invite people to our table. What I heard in that message was, be aware of the “others” in the room, be aware of what privilege you have in that moment and invite the other in. It is through those invitations that we create community and connection.
Why mental coaching
You spend a great deal of time and money training and racing. You hope to show up on race day in peak form. Why not feel as strong mentally as you feel physically.
The 4 Cs, the building blocks of resilience and mental toughness
Resilience, mental toughness and grit are buzz words describing an attitude that seemingly everybody is striving to achieve.
Resilience is not something you are born with, it is made up of skills and attitudes that can be learned! What are those skills and attitudes you ask? They start with what Maddi identified as the 3 Cs of stress hardiness, but with recent studies on the importance of relationships I have added a 4th C. The 1st 3 Cs are: Control, Commitment and Challenge. The 4th is Connection. It is from these attitudes that skills are built and used.
3 steps to build confidence
You are on the starting line of a race. Your heart is pounding, your thoughts are running, doubts are creeping in. Or, you are out on course, something has not gone your way, maybe the weather has kicked up, wind is churning up chop, or the rain has started to fall. Maybe you have been dropped by the group. Where does your brain go in these moments? Does this lead to a drop in your confidence? If so, you are not alone! So how do we get through these situations? We have three steps to build and use confidence: 1. Do hard things 2. Use motivational self talk 3. Be prepared.
Finding motivation
It’s winter in the northern hemisphere. In the northern latitudes the days are short and often gray. We are missing sunshine and the freedom to easily go outside. This is the time of year when our motivation to workout and train tends to dip. But good news! There are ways to light a fire under that motivation.