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Tag: optimism

  • Positivity is Key

    positivity is key
    Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

    As many of you know, last week was a tough week for my family. With the loss of Marty, it has been tough to stay optimistic. But through writing and talking about my feelings, I’m coming back to my more positive self. In general, I’ve noticed that our world has become a more negative place. Positivity is key if you’re looking for success, progress, and overall happiness. And to me, becoming a more positive person comes from a couple of different things:

    1. Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” With this Bible verse in mind, I just know that different things in life might just might suck, but ultimately, God has plans to make me a better person and bring me closer to Him. All that happens is meant to happen and it will all be okay in the end.
    2. Count the things you have to be thankful for. I think becoming a more positive person is all about perspective and when I say that, I mean that we need to recognize the things we have in life that others may not be as fortunate to have. Remembering this allows me to be grateful for the wonderful life I’ve been gifted and stay positive.
    3. See the alternatives. There may be times in life where you’re faced with a difficult situation. Maybe your car broke down. Maybe you failed that chem exam. Maybe worse happened. With growing your individual positivity, there are many different ways to look at a situation. Looking at the chemistry exam example, maybe you did fail the exam. But you will learn from your mistakes and become a smarter person from that. Perspective comes in here again. Be thankful that you have the opportunity to be taking a chemistry exam and learning to become whatever it is that you want to become. Things could be much worse, and unfortunately there are some people in the world that have it much worse than you do. Be good to yourself and be good to others.
    4. Be kind to yourself. As a perfectionist, this can be difficult for myself when I underperform, but I’m learning how to work through that. It is important to be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to take study breaks or work breaks. Meditate, allow yourself to have a cupcake or piece of chocolate every once in a while. Celebrate the little bits of progress. Being kinder to yourself will allow you to trust more in your own progress within the different parts of your life.
    5. Pay less attention to the negative thoughts in your head. This can be a tough one too because I feel like society is so hardwired to be negative nowadays. Don’t do this. You can’t do that. Any negative thought can be altered into something positive and that’s just what you need to do with it. Let’s say I’m really struggling to hit backhands one day when I’m out hitting with my dad and sister. Instead of saying, “I can’t hit backhands. I suck,” it would be much better for my own mental health and tennis game to say, “I’ll get this next backhand in,” or visualize what a good backhand is going to look like. If you can train your brain to alter the negative thoughts, you’re going to find much more success and happiness with what you do.

    I’m going to end this post with a quote that I want you all to keep in mind this week.

    We become what we think about.

    Emily Nightingale

    And it’s so true! Positive thinking leads to positive people that leads to more positive results. Positivity is key everyone. I understand being realistic but I believe that being realistic comes with positivity. Have a good week everyone and I’ll see you next Sunday.

  • Always Have Optimism

    We’re already halfway through 8 Ways to a Happier You. This week’s trait is optimism. Here it goes.

    Optimism is hopefulness and confidence about the future and coming success. It’s a person ability to see the glass as half full as opposed to half empty.

    In a negative situation, optimistic people are able to find the “silver lining” or see the good in whatever is going on. They can problem-solve to resolve the issue and improve their mood as well as the moods of others.

    In order to become a more optimistic person, you should learn to take a different perspective on activities or certain events in your life that pull you down or make you upset. For example, two years ago in tennis, I went on a fairly long losing streak. I was upset with myself and the hole I dug for myself just kept getting harder and harder to get out of. Then one day, I decided that enough was enough. Yes, it sucked that I had lost my last nine matches in a row. But, I learned to be humble and accept that I had been playing terrible tennis. I knew that after this “valley” in my tennis career, I would play much better and I just had to look forward to that and I eventually got out of my hole and played better than I did before. To become more optimistic, accept the situation you’re in, find something good to look forward to, and push towards that, no matter what anyone says or does. You can do it!

    So whether, it’s sports, school, your relationships, work, or anything else, find something to be optimistic about. Some things might not be going well but it’s going to get better. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

    optimism

    Janes, Beth. “8 Ways to a Happier You.” 2016. Print.

  • Tennis Tips for Tournaments

    This past weekend I participated in a satellite or challenger tennis tournament in Fort Collins, Colorado. There were several tennis tips that I learned from this tournament that I want to share with others.

    1. Stay focused throughout the points and match. You have to stay focused on what you want to accomplish and how you want to execute your shots otherwise your opponent can take advantage of you and win a few points and even a game or two.
    2. Hit the ball in and play smart. You could have the best forehands or the best backhand slice shots in the world but if you can’t hit the ball in or return it back to your opponent then you can’t compete and the match is pretty much lost. And if you only push it down the middle or beat the crud out of the ball every time you go up to the net, then your game won’t be at the level you might want it to be. If you have a selection of shots and place the ball according to how your opponent is playing or how you want to win the point, then you will be much better off.
    3. Stay active if there is a rain delay or a delay of any sort. This weekend, due to the rain we had a four hour rain delay. I found that it was better to stay patient and warm during the delay so that when I got to play, I was ready to go, and I wasn’t stiff on the court. Check the weather often too so you’ll know when you could possibly play next and you’ll be ready for your next match.
    4. Stay positive. It’s important to stay positive while you play so that you stay relaxed and play your best. If you get down on yourself you start to miss more shots, you get upset, your confidence goes down, and your playing level goes down, and then you just end up in this big hole that you dug yourself into. To prevent this, when you miss a ground stroke or a serve or a volley just think to yourself, “I’ll get it in this time,” or, “Here we go, next point.” These kinds of things go through my head and this past weekend, they helped me be successful mentally even if I lost a match.