Challenge

When I'm feeling down or out of sorts, I like to give myself a challenge. It helps take the focus off of whatever is on my crazy mind and makes me feel better about myself. In the past, I've set up some really big challenges for myself and when I put my mind to them, I can accomplish them. There are those moments though when I can't quite psych myself up for the big ones and I find it's best to start off small.

On Sunday I set up a small challenge for myself; To do some form of high-impact cardio exercise for one half hour everyday for one week. I wanted to set it up for one month, but decided to scale it down according to how I was feeling. I suppose it's like most challenges. There are those days when you just don't feel like putting the effort in and others when you can't wait to get it going. Today I had a hard time getting it going. I didn't feel well and just wanted to relax, but I made a promise to myself, so I laced up my sneakers and went out to run. Once I started, I felt great and by the time I was about to finish, I had so much energy, that I extended my run.

When you start playing roller derby, I think it's important to set some goals and challenge yourself. For some, I think setting a goal to accomplish something in one week or learning one particular skill at a time works well. There are others that this might bore and they need more of a challenge. Always keep in mind what works best for you. It can sometimes be very difficult to not compare ourselves to others ("She learned that faster than I did"). So it helps to remember that we are all very different individuals and what works best for one, doesn't always work best for the other. As time goes on and your individual goals have been met, it's time to challenge yourself as a teammate. Learn not only what works well for you, but what works for your team as well. Learning to team up with another blocker on the track or finding new ways to help out your jammer are great starting points.

Set up some goals and challenge yourself as an individual and then step up those goals and challenge yourself to be a great teammate. Like me on my run today, you might surprise yourself and go further than you thought.

xo
Etta

P.S. For an amazing team challenge experience check this out.