Have you ever tried going to sleep with a mosquito (mosquitoes) in the room? This problem is quite common in the summer, especially in the wilderness. The buzzing sound of the mosquito is quite distracting and can prevent many of us from falling asleep.  Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we ignored the sound of this small creature and focused on the bigger picture?!

My birthday is coming up this week.  In the past couple of years, I felt like a failure around this time of year because I was reminded of milestones of adulthood that I hadn’t yet achieved. However, this year my outlook has changed and I am embracing the day!

Sharleen Hoar (Ph.D.) has been supporting elite and aspiring performers of all ages to achieve personal and performance excellence since 1996. She is a member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association and is the mental performance lead with the Canadian Sport Institute - Pacific working with Olympic and National team athletes, coaches, and sport science and medical professionals. Sharleen attended the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan American Games, and supported clients through three Olympic games including the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada) and Sochi (Russia), respectively, and 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).   

Today, Danelle Kabush, is sharing her experiences of perseverance with us, as she is a professional athlete and mental performance consultant. Danelle combined her love of psychology with her other lifelong passion, sports, and completed her doctorate in Sport Psychology from the University of Ottawa in 2007. Along with competing, she works as a mental performance consultant to many different athletes in various sports. You can check out her website at http://danellekabush.com. Keep up the great work Danelle! Thanks for encouraging me to persist. I'm really glad I connected with you! Read Danielle's interview below!

I describe myself in the About Me section of my site using many adjectives.  You will notice that “shy” isn’t one of them.  I have a confession to make: I used to be extremely shy and still am sometimes.

I am shy when I am in some social situations, as are the majority of individuals.  More than 90% of the world’s population have been shy during some form of social interaction.  My shyness occurs when I am in unfamiliar groups.  The initial meeting is difficult for me; however, once I start talking to the people in the group, I am no longer shy.  I am very comfortable around people who I know well and most would call me an extrovert.

I'm excited that Loren Fogelman has decided to share with me as part of my series on perseverance.  Loren Fogelman is author of The Winning Point and founder of Expert Sports Performance.com, a company devoted to teaching elite athletes how to consistently achieve high performance, maintain focus during competitions and create the confidence to reach their BIG goals. Having been a psychotherapist since 1985, she knows how to identify core issues -- the challenges that are getting in the way of your game – and how to tackle them with a laser-focused approach. During courses and coaching programs, Loren teaches her clients proven strategies for reaching their goals by working smarter, not harder. Psychology, physiology and productivity strategies when combined create a comprehensive training program, boosting performance.

I had this powerful dream the other night which I have to share with you.

It relates to a situation I have been going through over the past year.  I find that if you have been thinking about something a lot, your mind has a way of incorporating those thoughts into your dreams.

Do the following sound familiar to you?  These were all statements that I said before or during my first day at a fitness Bootcamp yesterday. It didn’t hit me until after that I use too many excuses.

“I am going a bit slower today BECAUSE I didn’t sleep well last night” – said as I was hiking

“I am taking my time down the hill BECAUSE I sprained my ankle” – on the way down

“I’m nervous to start this program BECAUSE I’ll look like a beginner” – in the car before Bootcamp

Or maybe some of these sound familiar to you....

"Do you ever feel like you are missing something in your life? If so, do you consistently focus on that loss to the point where you forget about all the other things that you do have in your life? How do you not let that loss become the focus of your life? How do you switch from focusing on the negative to the positive?"

I saw Michael Phelps compete at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, B.C. in 2006.  I am a fellow swimmer and find him, like many of his fans, inspiring to watch.  Prior to this time, I had only seen him on magazine covers, talk shows, and at the 2004 Olympics.  I will admit that before seeing him, I thought he was this amazingly talented swimmer who had innate talent and did not have to practice.  Also, I thought because he was a celebrity he was somehow different than other swimmers.   However, when seeing him in this environment, my views changed and I became even more impressed with him.   I realized he works extremely hard and that all those medals are well-deserved. He is human like the rest of us.  He may have the physical strength yet it is his mental strength that I admire most and makes him excel.

Over my lifetime, I have experienced great loss.  Death and goodbye are parts of life.  Hard aspects but are parts none the less.  When it happens to others around you, it makes you reevalaute how you are living and shows you that life goes by rather quickly.  Losing friends and family has made me realize what matters in life and what does not.  Since I love music, here is the song "Things that matter" by Rascal Flatts which reinforces what has been on my mind lately.

I just found this amazing video of the Canadian Men's Olympic Rowing Team which was shot at Elk Lake in Victoria, B. C.  I thought I would share this of some incredible athletes since the video reinforces the mental training component of athletics which I blogged about yesterday in my post .  Also, this is where I learned to row :) .