Welcome to part two of building your pandemic playbook. We’re focusing on mastering your mentality to maximize the results in your life.
Need to catch up? Check out part one here.
We’re in an uncertain time with sports, life, and everything in between, which can take a toll on our mental health. In one study, 35% of current elite athletes and 26% of former elite athletes experience symptoms and disorders of anxiety and depression.
How do you stay afloat with your mentality and well-being? You need to let yourself feel what you’re feeling and turn that into something positive, something actionable.
“Once we feel the full weight of our emotions, I think we have to shift our focus to how we can make the most of the opportunities this pandemic has brought us,” Darryll Stinson, CEO of Second Chance Athletes, said. “How might this be a blessing and not a curse?”
Part Two: Master Your Mentality
1) Turn rejection into revenue
When you’re rejected, it’s your next steps that count. You might get rejected by a boss, a coach, or someone in your life.
You may even consider the pandemic a rejection, of your dreams, your goals, everything you planned to do with other people or with your teammates that you can’t do at this time. So, how can you turn this thing called rejection into a blessing?
“Rejection is our friend,” Darryll stated in his TEDx Talk. “Imagine what would happen if we stopped viewing rejection as a negative, humiliating force and we started viewing rejection as a necessary development tool, and a catalyst for massive success.”
You have the power to bounce back from rejection with your next move. If you didn’t make the track team but you love running, keep running. If you felt inspired to build a website at your job, but your boss didn’t believe you could do it, build it now (or build it for a client – more on mastering your career and business in the next two parts of this series).
Whatever you do, don’t give up. Turn that “no” into your next “yes.”
2) Plan your day and trust the process
Much of this pandemic playbook focuses on planning. What are you doing today? What are you doing tomorrow? How do you get through this time? Set yourself up for success by starting your day in a positive light. Map out what you need to get done today, how long it will take you, and add in break times. Schedule these tasks out in blocks throughout the day. P.S. Don’t let perfectionism hinder your progress. Work on completing your tasks rather than perfecting them.
Then, finish your day in a restful way. Read, watch a movie, chat with someone. Rest your mind before going to sleep to wake up with a refreshed mentality.
Be easy on yourself, especially if some things don’t go according to plan. If you drop the ball today, pick it up and start again tomorrow. Add what you dropped to tomorrow’s list and tackle it at the beginning of your day.
3) Take a break
If you feel overworked, on the brink of burnout – maybe you’re already there – take. a. break. Resting your mind is crucial for resetting your mindset and powering through each day.
Here are a few ways you can take a break:
- Follow the 20/20/20 rule. Drop whatever you’re doing every 20 minutes and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This can help refocus your eyes and your mind on the task at hand.
- Walk 250 steps every hour. Physically moving around can help center your mind and body.
- Pick up the phone and talk to someone. This could be a 10-minute phone call to your uncle or an hour-long conversation with your friend from college. Hearing someone’s voice can help you feel at ease, and you won’t have to worry about video fatigue.
- Turn off non-urgent notifications on your phone and/or computer. Notifications can trigger anxiety and affect your brain’s biochemistry.
- Watch your favorite show.
“It’s okay to binge eat for a day, it’s okay to binge-watch Netflix for a day. We just don’t stay there. It’s okay to visit, just don’t live,” Darryll said.
Choose one course of action today
“Take one thing that resonated with you and put it in your calendar,” Darryll said. “You make one decision, and then you decide to do it. Don’t worry about how you’re going to do it or what it’s going to cost. Just make the next right decision.”
Having trouble figuring out what works best for where you’re at? We’ve got you covered. Send us an email titled MASTER MY MENTALITY at connect@secondchanceathletes.com. Keep an eye out for part three of this series for an in-depth look at how you can leverage your gifts and talents to maximize how you help people.
