I coached athletes for years. Any good coach knows that a physically conditioned athlete is a good athlete, but a great athlete comes from those who are also conditioned mentally. How you set you mind, sets your drive, sets your attitude and can launch a mediocre athlete into one of greatness. I used to tell my varsity teams that "I would take a group of mediocre athletes with great attitudes willing to bust their tails, over tremendously gifted athletes with crappy attitudes - ANY DAY!!!" Why?? Because attitude matters, and honestly, not just on the field.
As a teacher and an extrovert, I can tell you that remote teaching along being isolated from people I love has been HORRIBLE. I did not handle it well at first at all, my closest friends and family can tell you that. Remote teaching is not meant for long term, it is flat out hard for everyone. I have honestly put in double and triple the hours I would in a normal week. It took my husband to remind me that it was okay to set boundaries for myself in my hours. We were given 9-3pm availability hours via phone and email, but I struggle with sticking to those, I always have because there is so much to do. If you are a teacher that understands that education is really about relationships...that kids actually learn amazingly with a teacher they connect with, then you will understand that I will do anything to help my students be successful. This includes trying to help them at all hours and just be there for them to listen, to explain and re-explain the same thing a million times over if needed. That, however, along with the isolation from my loved ones...was wearing on me and on my mood. Now add the crappy weather and you've got the perfect storm for disaster of sadness and of bad attitude. Why? Not the weather, not the circumstance...but how I set my mind, and how I set my thoughts.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
My daughter, the last few weeks, has been given the opportunity to train with the high school cross country team. Although not meeting in person but though video and email etc... she has been training and adding to the team mileage tracker. She is an athlete, but this is new for her so she is working at conditioning to run miles at a time. It takes patience. It takes good attitude. One day when she was at the end of a 4 mile run (the farthest she had ever been so far), she verbally ripped her sisters head off wanting to know where the "finish line was" because she was exhausted, but we kept encouraging her until she was done. We laugh about it now. In true mom fashion I stood and watched her as she crossed into our driveway with her sister and screamed my head off cheering her on. When she realized she did it and how far she had actually run, she was shocked and so proud. In her training, although I can no longer keep up with her, I have tried to teach her mind set. I've tried to teach her that attitude matters, that what you focus on matters...the pain or how far you have come? She is not one to be known with a bad attitude at all, her teachers and past coaches would attest to that, but you know when you are tired and cranky, or exhausted and thirsty, etc.... you have to check your thoughts A LOT, and press on. Today I had her run an extra 2 laps past the 2 miles she had already run, that she was not planning on. She is fighting being sore. She was not happy about it, but she powered through which is exactly what I wanted her to do. In her tired jog I wanted her to think about what she was thinking on and refocus if needed. Those times are not only physical growing times, but MENTAL growing times.
In this quarantine I have really had to check myself. I have had to really just look to God and say HELP ME...SHOW ME THE GOODNESS, because I can't see it!
Once we begin to focus on the goodness of God, the negative will fall away. We need to train our minds, no matter who you are or what you do, to think only on good things.
Today, as you go about your day, refuse to focus on what you did not finish, what you felt wasn't enough, the pain of failing or what felt like failing, or what could have been better. Instead, set your mind and thoughts on your accomplishments, where you've been and how far you've come. Do not look at your shortcomings, celebrate your achievements. Instead of beating yourself up for what you didn't do, thank God for all He helped you do, see, or focus on, and for all He has done. Whatever is good and lovely...think on that and press on. Its truly a game changer.
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