500 Words a Week - Questioning Ourselves

I was unsure whether to share this or not, but a theme throughout this blog is about being more comfortable with our vulnerability.

After from returning from a holiday, and with the next season beginning some questions have arisen. What do I want the next few years to look like? Am I improving?

Something that has helped me with these uncertain questions and feelings is to write everything down, every worry, every thought. It doesn’t have to be coherent. Simply putting it all down on paper helps me to think deeper about the question/ how I’m feeling.

What we need to remember is that some of the questioning we do to ourselves is a good thing. We are contemplating our path. We are searching for answers about important things to us. We just can’t let ourselves get carried away and completely wrapped up in it, or not fret if we haven’t got all the answers lined up in front of us.

One of the most reassuring things I listened to this year was from Boyd Varty; “I don’t know where I’m going, but I know how to get there”. At times we can get so wrapped up in thinking about our plan for the future or what are next steps are, we let it burden the present and lose sight about what we are going through now. Boyd talks about how we should stop focusing on what you think you should do, and focus on the next thing you know you must do. Spending time in more areas where we feel curious and energized.

Another thought we should keep in mind when we begin questioning ourselves in a negative connotation is: “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” As coaches we are incredibly supportive of the athletes we work with, this is the central aspect to our role. Do we support ourselves the same way we support our athletes? When we see an athlete going through a hard time, we will give them all the support they need. Do we do this to ourselves also?