I'll have the cake, please...

Little opportunities lead to bigger gifts

Happy Friday Friends,

I’m so grateful for you all joining me on this (sports) parenting journey. I have so many ideas I want to share. There are five or six topics (overthinking, paralyzing anxiety, Dad’s who care too much, and the NFL Draft to name a few) I want to tackle in upcoming blog posts, but I’ll save those for the coming weeks. Today I’m sharing a little win.

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I was on the phone early this morning with a client who shows horses competitively. She had a big event today which she is excited about, yet could only visualize the negative ending she’d had recently on this horse, which resulted in a fall. Never fun. As we chatted, she identified the spiraling rabbit hole she was down and we came up with some positive ways to course correct in order to get her back up on dry land, onto her horse and riding confidently into the ring today.

Kenzie stated matter of factly, “You know, I’ve done this event successfully thousands of times. There is no reason I can’t do it again today.” I agreed 100%. Let’s talk about ways to convince your brain of that statement!

Here are some mantras she came up with:

Ride your ride 🏇🏻

This is the icing on the cake 🧁

Today, I GET to do this 🥳

It’s just another round (not the ONLY round) 😉

I’ve done this thousands of times 🗝️

As we’re about to hang up on the call, I mentioned to her, “I’ve got a big day today, too. I’m going to be interviewed on KTLA Channel 5 News. Am I a little nervous? You bet. But you know what, I’ve answered these questions thousands of times, there is no difference between me answering them on a podcast or in front of a camera in a studio. This is the icing on the cake. I GET to do this.”

Kenzie sighed, “Oh that’s awesome, Kirsten. Good luck today!'“

I told her a secret little game I like to play with myself whenever I have something big coming up that makes me nervous. I throw it in the Time Machine and say to myself, “I’ll be happy when…. after (X goal) is done and I’m celebrating by… (doing something to treat myself).

I asked her, “How should we both celebrate this afternoon?" And she immediately responded. “Let’s eat cake!” Chocolate, of course.

So sharing with you the home movie version of my clip 🤣 (which my husband recorded on our TV). Will share the professional one on my site later, once I get it.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend! Tonight, I’m eating cake!

Thank you for being here. I love hearing from readers and listeners about their struggles, triumphs and moments of resilience, so please drop me a line and share yours.

Much Love,

Kir

If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on our most recent guests, a long weekend is a great time to do it! Raising Athletes Podcast

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