STRENGTH TRAINING FOR YOUR BRAIN

Self-doubt and fear plague everyone at times but, like an Olympic champion, you can build resilience to face challenges and overcome them. Kathy Lepan-Walker suggests strategies for nurturing your mental wellbeing.

Simone Biles is such an inspiration, an amazing role model to us all. She has demonstrated what mental strength, resilience and facing your fears is all about. I’m so grateful that my daughter looks up to her and admires not only her talent and determination, but also how she faced her mental health challenges when she decided to step away from gymnastics during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Developing strategies
So what can you do to develop mental strength and resilience like an Olympic champion?

● Prioritise what is important to you and make time for it. It might be exercise, self-care or spending time with loved ones. Make it part of a routine in your life, so it remains a priority and you stay connected with others.
● Look after yourself, both physically and mentally. Keep your wellbeing in balance by getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet and reducing substance intake, including coffee and other stimulants.
● Set goals or create a vision board of things to look forward to and accomplish. This provides a sense of purpose and worth, which in turn increases your confidence.
● Take on a positive outlook on life and see challenges as learning opportunities. Acknowledge what you can do better next time but also praise yourself and celebrate what you do well (even the small things!). Adopt a ‘glass half full’ approach, rather than a ‘glass half empty’ one.
● Incorporate mindfulness, self-care and/or meditation into your life. These are great ways to reduce the cognitive load, enabling you to feel less stressed and more centred. Take physical and mental breaks throughout your day, even in small snippets. Consider journalling and grounding exercises, such as breath work. Break the cycle.
● Cultivate compassion and empathy. This will enable you to see others in a different way and improve communication.
● Don’t be afraid to seek help from your support network − friends, family and neighbours. This could include professional therapeutic support to work through challenging relationships, trauma or simply day-to-day life.

Overcoming fear
Courage is scary and it can come with fear. If you experience fear, it’s often when you’re being your most courageous. I’m sure Simone Biles is full of fear when she’s out there doing her best, but it’s how she uses it. You, too, should use the fear, instead of stepping back or losing faith in your ability. It’s not easy but imagine the rewards and the feeling of accomplishment and pride afterwards. Here are some tactics to help you.

● Stretch yourself by moving outside your comfort zone and challenging yourself, without feeling overwhelmed.
● Practise grounding exercises, such as breathing, meditation, counting, stretching, having a cool drink of water or eating ice.
● Design a routine or a schedule to work around the fear and have structure.
● Make friends with the fear. Acceptance is a crucial part of working through these feelings. Instead of pushing it away and denying its existence, try to work with it… slowly.
● Sometimes when we experience fear, we don’t feel in control. Although you can never be in control of everything, you can still make opportunities for yourself to succeed. Remember that failure is part of the road to success, too.

Simone Biles showed us that there is no weakness in knowing what your limits are and walking away to look after your physical and mental wellbeing. Knowing when you need to stop isn’t quitting — it’s nurturing yourself and demonstrating crucial self-compassion.

Additionally, if we have trauma that we haven’t worked through, our bodies hold onto this and it manifests. Simone honoured herself by taking time out to work through her traumatic experiences and return a champion. She has demonstrated that we can all be resilient in the face of adversity.

The power is within you. Believe in yourself, honour yourself and love yourself, and by doing so, you will be a warrior, just like Simone.