Keeping your Competitive Edge without Competition
How long has it been since you competed? I know for most it has been at least 6-8 months. I am sure this is the longest you have ever gone without feeling the nerves and pressure of competing. Like anything you haven’t tried in awhile, it may seem scary to think about...
Finding a Healthy Balance in Sport and Life
I was so disheartened to hear of the sudden passing of Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya. I believe it shook me and the rest of the skating community to the core. She could be anyone of us, trying to navigate the transition away from the sport. Fearing the unknown and what...
Getting Back on the Ice: This is Playtime!
Last week I listened in on the livestream Skate Ontario provided for Return to Play. Tracy Wilson was one of the high performance coaches featured. I was happy to watch and listen as she made suggestions to the skaters. One of the many pieces of wisdom she shared...
Using Gratitude to stay Positive
The time away from your sport is starting to feel long. Your city may have begun the process of phasing into reopening arenas but this is still going to take awhile before you can resume your normal routine. Keeping a positive mindset during this extended period is...
Building Unshakeable Confidence away from the Ice
During this challenging, uncertain time it is so important to focus on ways you can build unshakeable confidence away from the ice. You may already be experiencing a dip in your confidence, questioning whether you will be able to execute the challenging elements you...About Me
Hi, I'm Rebekah. I help skaters improve their performance by strengthening their mindset. Please check out my blog, sign up to my mailing list, or follow me on social media for inspiration. Facebook Feed
Benoit, on raising the age of senior ladies...![]()
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"If you asked all the female skaters who have stopped if they would like to continue, I think they would all say yes. We could see very nice senior-level competitions with Elena Radionova, Anna Pogorilaya, Zagitova, Tuktamysheva and Medvedeva and have in juniors Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova and Alena Kostornaia. They could move up to seniors at 17, and then we would see."
Benoît Richaud - A Creative Force – International Figure Skating
www.ifsmagazine.com
French choreographer Benoît Richaud has earned the respect of figure skaters and fans for his innovative and original approach to his craft.
"Watching the skaters perform and then hearing them reflect on the physical and mental training required, was insightful. This is how you learn to be a better athlete."![]()
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Meagan Duhamel![]()
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#madalineschizas
Quieting Distractions: Skaters’ Reflections from Worlds | Rebekah Dixon
rebekahdixon.ca
Watching the skaters perform and then hearing them reflect on the physical and mental training required was insightful. This is how you learn.
"A small quiet space of no thought, just noticing and observing before engaging and attaching to a particular perspective.![]()
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There is peace in that space of noticing our thoughts. We are not in them, believing them and reacting from them. We are just being, as we are, noticing thoughts and our reactions to them."“I am ... noticing my thoughts ...”![]()
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Thoughts have a tendency to hook us, and bring us into the story they are telling. These thoughts are frequently a distraction to the present moment, bringing our attention to a perspective of the past or narrating a future that may or may not be. ![]()
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Our thoughts lead to emotions. They powerfully elicit feelings appropriate to the story’s context, both good and bad.![]()
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Now add that our mind has a negativity bias designed to pick out potential threats in our environment and highlight them. So our thoughts have a natural tendency to be overly negative, despite the expectations for “positive thinking.”![]()
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We cannot control our thoughts. ![]()
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Let me say that again. ![]()
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We can NOT control our thoughts. At least not the first automatic negative thoughts that pop into our heads. On the other hand, we do control our reactions to them.![]()
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You might have noticed that it is very hard to think positively when you are actively engaged with a negative thought. In the process of responding and changing negative to positive, notice that there is a space between negative thinking and positive thinking.![]()
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A small quiet space of no thought, just noticing and observing before engaging and attaching to a particular perspective.![]()
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There is peace in that space of noticing our thoughts. We are not in them, believing them and reacting from them. We are just being, as we are, noticing thoughts and our reactions to them. ![]()
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From that quiet place we can decide if this thought serves us well. Does it move us closer to our desired goal? Or does it move us further away?![]()
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Then decide how we want to respond to it. Engage the thought if it moves us closer, or stay detached and just notice the experience of thinking because the content of the thought does us no good.![]()
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Let me know in the COMMENTS - how would noticing your thoughts improve your performance?![]()
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This mindfulness of thoughts is a psychological skill that can be practiced and developed. I would love to support you with 1:1 coaching at dreddieoconnor.com/telehealth-services/ or in our Success Stories Membership community at dreddieoconnor.com/membership/