Cheerleaders – Power up your thinking!
An emotionally resilient cheerleader is a powerful cheerleader. Yesterday I wrote about the US Army’s emotional resiliency program and I mentioned that much of what the Army will be learning is what I already write about in this blog.
As I’ve said so many times, the way you think affects the way you feel and the way you perform. One way to categorize thoughts is in terms of “hot thoughts” and “cool thoughts.”
Hot thoughts get you into trouble because they are thoughts you have when you are upset and they usually lead you to take action you might later regret.
Hot thoughts happen quickly; they are knee-jerk reactions to a situation. For example, let’s say you go cheer practice one day and your best friend doesn’t give you a welcome hug like she usually does. If you’re a hot thinker, you might think, “She doesn’t like me anymore! I must have done something wrong!”
Now this line of thinking might lead you to act in a certain way that you might later regret. You might retreat from your friend or you might yell at her or you might tell someone else about the situation. You aren’t taking the time to step back and consider what else might be going on.
If you are a cool thinker, for the same situation, you might think, “Gee I wonder what’s going on with her? It’s possible I upset her but maybe it has nothing to do with me. Maybe she’s preoccupied with something.”
In this instance, your cool thinking will allow you to respond differently to your friend. You might gently ask her if she’s ok or if she needs to talk. You won’t jump the gun and assume the worst.
Cool thoughts mean you take a moment to pause and consider all the options before you respond. Cool thoughts lead to a happier and healthier existence.
So…stay cool!
Tags: cheerleader, cheerleaders, Cheerleading, resiliency