Women in Sports

Written by Marissa Wilfahrt

Balancing Physical Fitness With Daily Life

One of the greatest parts of being an athlete is the healthy competition. You strive to excel in your passions, to be recognized for your commitment, and shatter personal boundaries. But it can be difficult to stay out of your head when competing and to balance the sports you love with your daily life. When you are losing to somebody else, isn’t it easier to just let them win and come up with an excuse for yourself afterward? It wasn’t my game. I was feeling off. I slipped. The truth is that if you trust your physical abilities in competition the way you do at practices, then success would come a lot easier. As athletes, we push our bodies to their limit. We push them to their breaking points and then finish the job with a little mental push. So, why do we doubt ourselves sometimes when it comes to trusting that push? The first thing I noticed helped me was that when I became more comfortable with discomfort and became more socially confident, my mental health gave me stamina. It allowed me to truly believe that I was good enough to win. It especially taught me that even if I face a loss or am not proud of my race, I did everything I was capable of in that moment, and nobody is criticizing me for that. I’ve found it helpful to zone everybody else out for a bit. Think about your competition as just you versus you. If you challenge yourself and learn something new every day, then you will find personal improvement and become a better person each day, too. It takes a lot of determination and both mental and physical drive to be an athlete. I hope that this summary of my personal journey to enhancing my physical fitness while balancing all the other aspects of life will help you through similar circumstances in your life!

It is also easy to succumb to your emotions in the moment. Maybe you ' re angry at a player who hurt you when nobody was looking, or somebody says something rude or profane to you, or you think that you should give up. You have to remember that when a negative or hateful thought comes into your head, that will drive your actions, whether you mean for it to or not (sometimes it can be okay to allow some emotion into your performance, but not when they overwhelm all others). It’s not worth it to let that emotion build and then let it all out for temporary relief. You must have confidence in your mentality and, again, in your physical abilities. If you have put in the effort, then you must be confident in your performance and let that carry you through your competition. Practicing slow and deep breathing while clearing your thoughts/warming up to the sounds of the arena are also effective ways of easing stress. Balance can be a tricky value. It is something that you have to be able to recognize yourself to achieve, and to know how much personal stress you can handle. It can seem like a lot to be juggling school work, social life, work life, and sports, but if you give yourself a challenging “to do” from the beginning, you will become adapted to that fast pace and will start to look for things to do when you have empty hands and thoughts. You also must find the things that help you relax and feel genuinely happy to keep mental balance. You will perform better knowing that you are prioritizing your health in every way and that you are prepared to take on every challenge possible, in and out of your sport. Remember that you have everything it takes to be an athlete, and that you will always get the results out of the effort you put in. Enjoy your athletic journey as it helps you through all angles of life, and stay fearless. Your dedication will walk with you all your life, and will always be there to push you to do the unexpected. Always.