New Month, New Focus!
Great job, Challengers, we are moving right along into a new month! August is here, bringing most of us long, hot summer days, perhaps sometimes making staying consistent with our training a little challenging. As we look to “back to school” time and moving strong towards our finish, we are going to turn to some exercises for our #MentalStrength to keep us going.
Keep reading to find:
- The #MentalStrength Challenge
- July Challenger of the Month
- The Challenge 2018 Store
- Facebook Group Etiquette
Post your progress with #MentalStength, the Workout of the Season (#WOS), and any of your other training adventures in our private Facebook group for a chance to earn some high fives, support, and win a gift certificate to the Challenge Store!
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#MentalStrength
We’ve all heard the inspirational cliches: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. “Go big or go home.” “Nothing worth having is ever easy.” The question is, how do we get from inspiration to actual, usable techniques to get us through the tough times, both in our training and in our lives? That’s what this month’s focus, #MentalStrength, will address.
If you listened to Episode #40 of The Coach Jenny Show featuring Olympian Deena Kastor, you’ve been introduced to the concept of mentally shifting your perspective to turn negative self-talk or a negative attitude into a positive one. This month, start to take active notice of when you are talking negatively in your head and see if you can practice making that shift. Sometimes it may be an easy task, and sometimes it may take some serious work, but at the end of the month, the goal is to feel that you’ve made some strides towards #MentalStrength by shifting passive negativity into active postivity.
Much like your #MealPrep challenge, this will be a very individualized journey, and you may find some of the techniques we have gathered are exactly fitting for you, and others may not speak to you. You might want to try them all and see if anything surprises you! It may take some #courage. You might find yourself adjusting your #goals, or using #declutter principles to help you along your way. As always, you have permission to get messy and make PROGRESS without focusing on perfection.
Here are some places to begin:
1. Listen to the following episodes of The Coach Jenny Show (you can also download these on iTunes, Apple Podcasts on your iPhone, or Stitcher on your Android devices):
Deena Kastor – Let Your Mind Run
Overcoming Mental Barriers and Qualifying for the Boston Marathon with Elizabeth Clor
2. Read this article: Four Ways to Build Mental Toughness
3. Keep a journal this month, whether that’s on paper, in a document on your computer, or even a note in your phone and make a physical note of times when you notice negativity creeping in. If you don’t have time to mentally address it in that moment, you can come back to it later and spend some time thinking about how you can apply the shift.
Use the hashtag #MentalStrength in the Challenge 2018 Facebook group to keep the conversation going!
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July Challenger of the Month
Congratulations to Diana Dickinson, our July Challenger of the Month!
Diana had some great #MealPrep suggestions, including making large quantities and freezing in portions for later dinners, and making a large batch of caramelized onions to throw into simple meals to jazz them up.
Diana also inspired us by posting about her ah-ha moment this month:
“I turned 63 two weeks ago. When I was growing up, women were generally not expected to be serious about sports; nor were we supposed to be competitive. I still talk to women my age who are surprised and slightly appalled that I talk openly and aggressively about playing to win. Lately, though, I’m facing the facts: I like myself better when I don’t let myself back down.”
Diana has chosen Portland’s Forest Park Conservancy as her charity, and a donation has been made in her name.
WANT TO BE OUR CHALLENGER OF THE MONTH? Use the hashtags #MentalStrength and/or #WOS in your posts for the month of July to be considered!
