Set Boundaries For Mental Success
Athletes need to have faith in the process and set boundaries. This faith doesn’t come easy. The athlete needs to establish tough roots to overcome anything that might put them down. This could be the feelings of wanting to quit, not motivated to do the extra work, or just nothing might seem to be going right at the moment. When this occurs, you have to dig deep, and I mean deep! When you feel like giving up, your faith with uprise you, give you purpose, belief you can do it, and overcome the feeling of giving up.
Here are some ways to develop faith & boundaries for optional success!
- Identify your beliefs. These beliefs should be your own. What are your philosophies, do you practice your religion, do you try to connect with yourself spiritually. The more connected you are with yourself, the more faith you will have in the process.
- Take action to practice your faith. Every so often, your faith should be practiced. Going to church every sunday, make time to meditate, pray, tell someone to have a blessed day.
- Set boundaries. It is easy to let certain actions get in the way. It can be hard to say no. You don’t have to completely say no, just make sure you set yourself a limit before you know you have gone to far. An example would be going to a party. You can go to the party and be with yourself, that isn’t the issue. Just restrain from what could hurt your basketball career, like drugs, drinking, and staying up all hours of the night. Go to the party, have a good time, and head home when the night is still young.
- Identify distractions. These distractions are hard to avoid completely. There is always going to be temptations that might overpower sticking to a clean life. It is all about balance and surrounding yourself with a good crowd.
- Take action to improve distractions and not crossing barriers. Once they have been identified, do something about it. If video games get in the way of your studies, limit yourself to one hour a day. You can have your cake and eat it too, just only one piece compared to the whole cake.
Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Basketball Mindset