How you view your practice environment is everything when it comes to creating productive practices. I have skaters who train at the Cricket Club and I was thinking about what the energy must be like since the influx of incredible skaters. Skating on the same ice as multiple World and Olympic champions everyday must be an amazing feeling. Watching your idols execute high level jumps and spins can push you in ways you never thought possible.
Coming from little Cape Breton, I never had a lot of competitors to look up to. Being the best on the ice was good for the ego but not always good for training. It was my dream to train at a high level camp where I could skate with my competitors and skaters who I looked up to on a regular basis. However, this is only one way of viewing this environment.
What if you compare yourself to the other skaters on the ice? Or you find the ice too busy or too fast paced to train your best? What if you secretly don’t welcome these skaters to your club with open arms, worrying that they will hog lesson time or attention? These are all normal, ego-driven reactions to this situation. This is why perspective, and specifically perspective shift is so important.
Shifting Perspective
You can change your view of the environment by first acknowledging how you feel about it.
Questions to ask yourself:
- When you think about your training mates, do you feel negative or positive toward them?
- Do you wish them good fortune or hope that they fail?
Remember the energy you put out is the energy you attract, so if you are feeling jealous or hoping they fail, energetically you are sending out very negative vibes. Once you are aware of how you feel know that YOUR THOUGHTS create YOUR FEELINGS. If you want to change your feelings you must first change your thoughts.
Changing Thoughts
Simple reframing is the best tool to change your thoughts. Ask yourself, “what could I think instead”? In regards to your training environment, you could focus on all the benefits of skating with talented skaters ie. The motivation to skate faster, jump higher, attempt more difficult elements, interacting and learning from their personal journey, and confidence! Write these down and every time you notice a negative thought, replace it with a positive reframe. Repeat this action over and over until your negative thoughts become very quiet and your positive thoughts become amplified. As your perspective shifts, so too will your training!
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. 