As we wrap up 2021, it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and forget a critical step in helping our daughters grow as athletes and people. 

The power of pausing and reflecting is an essential practice that is often skipped over in the pursuit of the next thing. 

Reflection is vital for developing confidence and growth in all aspects of our lives.

In the Elite Competitor Program, we teach female athletes a reflection practice that they use after each competition. 

We teach this because reflection is essential for growth! It's also essential for developing confidence and self-awareness.

Reflection allows our athletes (and all of us!) to recognize what worked well so they can more easily repeat it next time. It also allows them to notice what didn't work as well, so they are able to be intentional about what they want to work on going forward.

Athletes want to have a path to improve and feel confident and secure in themselves and their sport. In order to develop this path, they must incorporate the practice of reflection on both the positives and areas for improvement.

We know that our brains want to protect us at all times and will often focus on the negative over the positive. So, it's easy to only see what went wrong. This requires us to really pause and be intentional to recognize and appreciate all that went well, too.

As we focus on the good, then we're more able to repeat it in the future... what we focus on expands!

Here's a simple reflection activity for you and your daughter to complete (ideally, together) in order to close out the year feeling confident and inspired.

Select a few areas of your lives (career, sports, relationships, school, health, etc) and reflect on the following for each area:

• 3 things you are proud of
• 2 things you learned about yourself
• 1 word to describe this year

You can either write this down or discuss with one another. It's a simple activity that you can do together, to build connection, celebrate your strengths and accomplishments, and note key areas of growth and learning.

Next week, we'll focus on setting strong intentions for the New Year!

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Helpful Links:

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