The Olympic Mindset: 3 Mantras I Used When Preparing to Compete

With The Olympics on the mind, I thought I’d share three mantras that I used leading up to Beijing (and while there competing) and how they helped me push through mental blocks and stay in a positive state of mind!

THE MANTRAS:

1. Never quit on a bad day.

2. Keep a positive thought, because a positive thought cannot be denied.

3. You were made for this, you were born for this.

1. Never quit on a bad day.

If you’re not new around here, you’ve surely heard me say this before. It’s kind of a family mantra, and something that has stuck with me to this day. You’re going to have bad days in the pursuit of what you love. Don’t quit on those days. If you truly feel like you’ve lost your passion for something, wait until you’ve had a good day and reassess then.

2. Keep a positive thought, because a positive thought cannot be denied.

Another gem from my mom. Whenever I felt a negative thought creeping up in my mind as I was training for the Olympics, I immediately dismissed it. I didn’t even let it get to the forefront of what I was thinking about for long enough to ruminate over it or even actually decipher what the thought meant. If I knew it was negative (i.e., “Woah, this skill is hard.”), it was gone.

3. You were made for this, you were born for this.

It’s easy to tell yourself you’re not good enough. I know I’m my biggest critic. Whenever a new skill came up, something I tried to immediately tell myself was: “You were made for this, you were born for this.” I often repeated the mantra when training got draining, or when there was pressure from the media that my body was not “a gymnast’s body.” I actually have a few friends who have used this mantra while giving birth. When things get hard, repeat this to yourself to give you the confidence you need to push through. Because you were born for this!

What are some of your favorite mantras? Let me know!