"You are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
- Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh
To help you manage burnout in sport, it is helpful to develop your Long Term Mindset.
a. Track details as they relate to your goals and in the areas of technical , tactical , physical , and mental skills development.
b. Get in the habit of regularly checking-in with your body and asking, “What does your body need from you?” Your body is wise . It has a lot more answers for you than you think.
c. Quantify your results on a scale, like a scale of 1-10, 1️⃣ being little to no effort and improvement and 🔟 being optimal effort and improvement.
d. Include categories like, fatigue , stress , quality of sleep , muscle soreness , and irritability.
e. The best way to measure whether you are getting enough sleep:
i. Are you awake before your alarm goes off?
ii. Do you feel refreshed in the morning or do you still feel tired when you get up?
f. Identify and note causes of stress and dissatisfaction. This includes illness, injury, and even menstrual cycle for females.
g. Nutrition and hydration. Speaking for myself, it can start out as a shocking experience when you actually see how much or how little you are eating and drinking.
h. Find the fun . Start by identifying what made your sport fun in the first place. Try to recapture that fun, be it from coaching youth in your sport, or by just changing your focus in training.
i. Figure out your why : “Why am I doing this?”
In the end, consistent journaling can provide insightful information down the road. Sometimes when you get so focused on the outcome or end goal, you can lose track of the day to day progress and accomplishments that are propelling you forward. Celebrate your successes, write down and be proactive with the challenges you face, and manage the process by being able to literally see your progress.
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