During the holidays a lot of people take time to be thankful for what they have. As athletes we should also be thankful for our strengths and our opportunities. But we should also be thankful for the challenges we have and our ability to work on them and improve. We can never really work on our challenges until we truly acknowledge them. The other thing that I have found for many athletes is that there is a fine line between some of our mental strengths and our mental challenges. For example, I was just working with a college level bowler and when I asked him his main mental strength it was his passion, his competitiveness, and his desire to win for himself and for his team. But then when we talked about his main challenge it was that sometimes he has so much passion and energy and wants to win so badly that when he makes even a minor mistake he can't rebound. I have another bowler and she focuses so much on her challenges that she forgets that one of her strengths is her constant desire to analyze, work hard, and fix her challenges. Take some time to think about your strengths and be thankful for them, take some time to think about your challenges, and also be thankful for them because they probably contribute in some ways to your strengths. Take some time to find ways to maximize your strengths and think of ways to work on your challenges. There are so many positive things in our lives but it is easy to get distracted by the problems, issues, and challenges. Reminding yourself of the many blessings and the opportunity to work on our challenges is something to be thankful for everyday. If you win all of the time, you are probably playing a game that is too easy. Challenges keep life and sports exciting.
