Before you resolve…REFLECT!
It wasn’t just your imagination. Yes, the holiday music began even before the turkey hit the table. According to Spotify, streaming of Christmas music, in particular Mariah Carey’s song “All I want For Christmas Is You”, began streaming about a month earlier this year than usual. Think that’s too early to begin the holiday? Starbucks doesn’t! They began offering the fave Pumpkin Spice Latte in August.
With the rush to get to the holidays, we might end up cruising right through to the new year without ever stopping to reflect. If you are an athlete, this rush toward the future might be all too famliar. I often work with athletes who are focused on the next big event, like playoffs or getting to a college team, without ever stopping to reflect on the successful journey that got them to where they are right now.
While these upcoming opportunities can breed excitement, the anticipation and uncertainty can also result in anxiety and added pressure. When athletes take time to think about the challenges they have already overcome and the successes they have experienced, this can enhance motivation and confidence and boost performance.
TRY THIS NOW:
Whether you are an athlete or not, take a moment this December to write down some of the major events of this past year. Some may be happy memories while others may reflect difficulties. If you are more visual, you could go through your photo memories (our phones do a great job of capturing our memories now!). Notice the highs, lows and the high-fives.
- What moments stand out to you?
- What can you feel proud of?
- Who impacted you this year, as a friend, mentor or coach?
- What can you feel grateful for?
- What did you learn from these experiences in 2024?
- How do you hope this will help you in 2025?
- Pause, breathe and just savor the amazing journey that is your life.
Great job! Give yourself another high five for taking time to reflect on the year rather than just breezing right on into the next one. Were you reminded of some good times that had faded from your memory?
Getting the right perspective.
Like most years, you probably recalled many positive events, but also some challenging ones that affected you personally or that impacted larger groups, like your family, your team or your city or nation. Research indicates that we often judge an experience, like our year, by the most recent event.
For example, if you had a lot of exciting things happen during the first part of the year, but then struggled through a challenging time in the latter half, you might be more likely to judge it as a “bad year.” On the other hand, if you struggled through something, like an injury or illness, in the first part of the year, but then recovered and had some positive things happen in the last few months, you might be more likely to judge the year as a “good year.” For an athlete, it might mean that a disappointing final score might cause you to forget the smaller wins you accomplished during that competition, and instead color the whole performance as negative.
By taking time to reflect, you can develop a more balanced perspective. Seeing the big picture helps you understand that life is a windy road of ups and downs. It also helps you realize that you are stronger than you think. Did you think you would ever heal from that knee surgery? Were you certain you could never be happy again after that breakup? And yet, here you are… still plugging along.
You are resilient!
Reflection helps cultivate resilience by helping you realize that setbacks are normal, and that, if you keep doing the work, you can experience your rebound. Reflection also helps you:
- Build self-awareness and understanding
- Cultivate a more balanced perspective
- Recognize your unique strengths
- Develop meaningful and effective goals
- Sustain motivation toward long term goals
By taking time to reflect on your unique journey, you can enhance your own confidence as well as cultivate feelings of meaning and satisfaction to increase wellbeing. If you would like to learn more about how to integrate reflection into your sport or journey, please reach out to me for a Complimentary Consultation.
