I cannot believe that one week ago today I was in Kona, Hawaii cheering on Trimarni, Wattie Ink. Elite Teammates, and LWNL athletes at the GoPro Ironman World Championships! It was an experience of a lifetime. I highly recommend you plan a trip there even if you never plan to race. It’s amazing and you’ll love the energy!

As a sport psychologist it was thrilling to speak with athletes about their mindset during the week and on race day, and help as many as I could. As a small business owner and athlete the experience ignited a fire in me that I needed. I needed to be in an environment where everyone breathed the desire for success and determination was always in the air. Mediocre and just settling was not the name of the game this week. Excellence was. It’s a powerful thing when you surround yourself around positive and motivated people, especially my dear friend for life, Marni! In case you didn’t know, Trimarni put out a record-breaking performance and PR’ed her Ironman time by 6 minutes! Sky is the limit for her and this is just the beginning…

One thing I want to encourage you all to do is to evaluate your environments, at work, in training workouts or with a specific team, in social settings, and at home. Does it emanate positivity and support? Do you feel the freedom to be yourself? Are the majority of people in those environments people that you feel good around? Do you feel comfortable asserting your needs, wants, and preferences? Take stock and reevaluate whether it is healthy or beneficial for your emotional, physical, and spiritual growth to continue to be in those settings or around those people.

It is also important to recognize the difference in your needs in those in environments, do you stay in those environments because they support you OR because they externally validate your sense of self worth. As you go through this process I want to remind you that you are never “stuck.” You always have a choice. It may be between two difficult choices and outcomes, but you are never stuck.  You are never “forced” or “made” to feel, act, or be a certain way, that is also your choice.  The powerful thing is that it usually comes down to “Am I going to honor myself or am I going to honor someone else’s need, wants, preference, idea, suggestion, of me over mine?” In relationships there are compromises, but we always have a choice over how much we give up and at what cost. Be aware. Be mindful. Nothing in life is perfect but there is a personal balance that you can achieve if you decide to put yourself first in your life and in your environments. This is not self-fish, it is self-care, because when you are happy and at peace with yourself others get the benefit of it too!

Shine on my friends, Dr.G

Here are some pictures from my adventures in Kona.