Monday, 7 January 2013

Building Self Esteem in Athletes

By Lothair Thibodeau


Changing yourself and getting a higher level of results starts with changing your thoughts. After you change your thoughts, your actions will change and the results you will get will also improve.Here are some of the most important things you have to know about how to direct your thoughts to reach higher levels of success:Your thoughts will help you reinvent your personality, start building self esteem and become empowering.It's important to reinvent yourself and your life regularly. People have the tendency to do the same things every single day. They get into their habits and routines. It's nothing wrong with having success-oriented habits. But most people have habits and routines that do not bring high levels of success to them.


[Building Self Esteem]



To make your mind more fluid, you need to expose it periodically to new ideas and experiences. And one way to accomplish this is to reinvent your self image and how you see yourself. Try out different roles. Dare to think different thoughts. And things will change for you and you will become more confident,creative and successful as a result.Every big or small accomplishment starts first as a thought.A small seed can give birth to a tree that will eventually grow to hundreds of feet in height. The same principle applies to your thoughts. A tiny thought can be the starting point of a revolution of a big result in your life. Don't discount your thoughts. They can help you do magic. Monitor your thoughts and align your thoughts to what you want to achieve in life and the actions you take to achieve your goals.

Thoughts are not enough by themselves. It's not enough to think right. You could sit in a corner and think all the thoughts you want and still not make any change to your condition. You also need to do the required steps. And this takes work, planning, strategy, thinking, action and developing skills. Thinking right is great but it's not enough by itself. You also need to act.There's proof that good health can be influenced by your thoughts.Scientists have discovered how belief works at the physical level. Basically, beliefs can change your cells and even switch off or on your genes. This means that you can become someone else mentally and physically through changing your thought patterns. Also, in the past few years, scientists have discovered through the use of REMs how the thoughts that people have on a daily basis rewires the brain at a physical level.

Be careful about having too many assumptions. Assumptions can lead you astray. Assumptions are beliefs that you take for granted. This means that you don't question them and assume them to be true. People in general are pretty logical. They get into trouble when they assume certain wrong things to be true. Examine your more cherished beliefs and test them.The above ideas and principles will help you take control of your mind and direct your thoughts towards success. They require dedication, work, ambition and a lot of patience.I have posted an earlier article (7 self esteem boosters for children) which gives an outline of how the parent or the caregiver can help. Now I want to inform you on how to take action on the theory. I'll walk you though how I do it. You will be able to look over my shoulder and do the same.

These are generally father and son activities, but many of them can work equally well with daughters and mothers participating.This article will show you how to create and enjoy activities which help in building self esteem in children.How to plan to spend time with your children,How to choose and plan an activity to do together,Doing the chosen activity together,Joining a community,Letting the children fly.Holidays are perfect for spending time with the children. Often though, you have to plan to make this time. This is your choice. You and you alone are the one who controls your time. Time is not something you can save or bank for a later day. Time is your life, now! I'm extremely lucky as I work from home. Therefore, I can plan my own time. I sleep for 8 hours, work for 8 hours and that gives me 8 hours to play. I'm able to plan to spend 2 to 3 hours on each day of the holidays on activities aimed at building confidence in children. This is the first step; you must make the choice how much time you will spend with the children on the activity.

So what can you do together? Well that of course depends on the age of the child. It could be sand castle building or vegetable plot creation. Make a list of different things you could do together. See what will attract your children. I find it great fun, to surf the internet together, to seek out activities on your list and see how the children respond. The children love this responsibility and it is a good start in building self esteem in children. If they do not get excited, then never mind, move onto the next activity on your list. I've been surprised at what ages the children pick up different activities and let go of others. Our two boys were still playing with their Brio wooden train set long after we had built a WWII battlefield complete with Hornby trains and airfix models.

If you decide upon an activity, where you have an interest or its something you have always wanted to do, then even better.We're located close to a beach here in Finland so we decided together to try windsurfing this summer. Our two boys are just beginning their teenage years and are good swimmers.What resources or support do you need to carry out the activity? For sand castle building you just need to find a couple of buckets and spades, and you are set to go. For vegetable plot creation there will be more materials to obtain: timber, soil, young plants, protective netting etc.For windsurfing, I needed to check the local beaches and find a windsurfing school who could provide lessons and rent equipment. So again there is planning to do before you can try the activity. Again you can do some internet research together. You will be surprised at how fast they can obtain the required information. Again, this is another activity promoting responsibility and greatly assists in building self esteem in children.

Let the action begin. Remember this is not a competition! The aim of the activity is to promote building self esteem in children. You want them to enjoy the activity. The more they enjoy the activity, the more they will practice. The more they practice the more they will shine. Once they excel then they really start to build high self esteem. You want to encourage them along the way. It is their effort to master the activity which must be praised, not the level they achieve. This is a hugely important point - it is the effort that is praised. This will program them that it is the effort that counts.If success comes early so be it, but the children will be programmed to keep at it until they succeed. Children truly appreciate it when parents and carers recognise their efforts rather than their results. As my 13 year old son said this week, "I'm really proud of my efforts to succeed at windsurfing. It takes a lot of practice and effort. Football is so easy; you just have to kick a ball!"

So those are the moments I live for. To be present as the children's self esteem is built block by block. There is an excellent product by Dr Joe Rubino for overcoming negative cellular memory in elevating children's self esteem.Quite often activities are undertaken as part of a community. Vegetable plots on a local allotment are extremely social places. Children's plots can be appreciated by the other allotment members. In our case, the windsurfing school has other surfers on the water who often compliment the boys on how they are progressing.Compliments from others are powerful in building self esteem in children. Teenagers especially look for acceptance in the wider world. Sometimes, this is a big step to take. We have found that self hypnosis products by Uncommon Knowledge can actually help in overcoming a fear of social occasions. Their products can even be used for dealing with exam stresses.Let the children fly. If they take to the activity, support them in their efforts. Let them spread their wings. Remember it is the effort you are praising, not the result.These are the first, essential steps needed to prepare them to leave the nest. The final act for the parent is to allow the children stand on their own two feet. Once they can do this then it is time to kick them out from the family home.Here, is a list of activities which are all terrific for building self esteem in children.I hope you can think of some more, especially mother and daughter ones. Better still post your stories and experiences




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