To reframe a moment is essentially taking where you are in a certain moment or situation, and shifting it. This technique is applicable to your physical, mental and emotional states. Once you master “reframing” – it will likely become your greatest gift to yourself and to your level of success in the athletic world, and in life.
WHY?
This is probably the most important question to answer. Where you are physically, mentally, and emotionally tremendously effects your performance. If you’re having a “bad” day where you feel fatigued and sluggish, where it is hard to run and you’re easily out of breath, most likely you are mentally feeling down and lacking the will to continue to train or to perform. This situation often starts with the physical, and quickly shifts to the mental, and finally, your emotions are also effected. It is critical in these moments to be able to shift to a new state of being. By creating a shift, a whole new world opens up for you, a world where you can be positive and successful.
Let’s say you go on a run and you are tired and sluggish. What do you normally do? How do you feel about yourself? Do you start to feel upset, disappointed, or discouraged? Do you start to doubt yourself? Do you stop and give up? As these feelings begin to surface, think about how you deal with the situation.
Next time you feel this way, try a new approach. Try to find a place where you are feeling good. This may be as simple as acknowledging the fact that you are running. This in itself is great and worth feeling good about! When you are able to shift from a negative state to a positive state, not only does your experience in the moment change, your life changes.
The HOW starts with your awareness about how you are feeling: first physically, then emotionally, and finally, mentally. If it’s not good, the WHEN is NOW! Why now? Because you just became aware. You are now conscious of how you are feeling and this is truly the best moment to shift your attention to find something good in the moment. It can be a very simple, positive thought, such as: “My breathing is at ease, my arms and feet are happy today.” Find something positive to focus on. Then that “something” will become everything, and will become your focus.
WHY do this? Because if every run, every training session, every experience could be amazing… how would your life be, let alone your performance? This approach, this shift gives you the ability to change and improve. Having this powerful tool to use in the moment allows for excellent outcomes in your life as well as in competitions. On a daily basis you can learn to find goodness and happiness no matter what is in front of you.
Think about what a day, a week, a month, or year of your life would be like if you knew you could shift things from dark to light. Take a moment to imagine what your world would be like if you had both the awareness and the power to make this change in every area of your life. Perhaps you can begin now. Start today by becoming aware, find out how you’re physically feeling, then how you mentally feel, and take note of your emotions. Find the moment where you can make a shift. Through awareness you can make the changes to make a positive impact on your life.
Read more of my articles on TriEdge.net.
There is no going back to my old ways. This new-found awareness has really helped me to tune in to my posture and gait during running, even to issues we have not specifically covered during the sessions.
Eung K. – Anesthesiologist and Athlete in San DiegoRecent Articles