Now that the Summer Olympics are well under way in RIO, I thought a good topic to discuss in today’s Daily Inspo is Playing Offense in Life–Cultivating an Offensive Mindset. So what does that mean exactly? Well in sports, when a team is playing offense they’re sole objective is to score- they have the ball or whatever they use to score in their possession and need to find a way to get through the obstacles and challenges that present themselves, whether it’s from a course or another team, in order to score. On the other hand, when a team or player plays defense, they are reacting to another team’s movement and advancement to prevent that other team from scoring and getting to their objective, perhaps by cautiously and carefully guarding the goal. Now, we’ve all heard the sports debate- is it better to have a strong offense or at strong defense?! There’s arguments for both sides, but in sports obviously it’s best to have both a strong offense and defense.

In life, you have to have a good offensive game. The ball is always in your court. You’re in complete control of your life. You make the decisions and you act on them. We all have intention over all of our actions—there is a purpose behind them. This means being present and not going through the motions or being stuck “auto-pilot.” It also means you take risks and you’re not timid or fearful—you’re intentional and confident. Sure, we don’t always make the basket or score the goal, but every day we are navigating life trying to move the ball forward.

I’ll give you a great analogy – if you’re a football fan, you have 4 attempts to move the ball 10 yards before you have to turn it over to the other team. You can either run the ball or throw the ball. When you run the ball sometimes you only move 1 yard forward, but that’s still good because the ball is moving forward closer to the goal. And the team still gets back up and tries again. You don’t see the team give up after 1 down.

Now in life, it’s a good thing we don’t have only 4 downs or 4 chances to reach our goals. But the point is this, if you have a clear objective–your goal, vision, strategy, and you’re able to move the ball forward towards it every day, however big or small, and you can get back up when you reach a challenge or feel like you just got tackled to the ground, you’re moving in the right direction. Don’t give up! Keep that offensive mindset. Look, most touchdowns do not happen in 1 play, but a series of plays. The process to reaching your goals takes time. Remember that when you feel like giving up or feel like things are taking too long.

So, how do you identify a defensive mindset? It may be easier to spot a defensive mindset in other people than in ourselves. People that take things personally or are always on the defense are great examples. They may not be open to other opinions and ideas and they respond to situations negatively. It’s possible they have a “victim mentality” and perhaps they don’t take responsibility for the very things they’d like to change in their lives. Maybe you know someone who is paralyzed by fear and doesn’t take action or have the courage to do things or go after her dreams because she is fearful of the outcome or that she may fail. While it may be easy to see this in other people, it takes an honest look and self-reflection to identify these characteristics within yourself.

So, what do you do when you feel like you’re not in control, behind, or playing defense, reacting to situations or challenges? Or, maybe you feel like life is happening to you? Well, for me, the biggest shift that I saw in my life was when I changed my perspective and my approach to challenges. That means building resilience and anticipating that challenges will arise. Instead of getting upset when they do and reacting to them, it’s important to know that they will come up and that you will find a solution, persevere and make it through. So, for example, I like to remind myself that it’s not about “problem solving” (I think it has a slight negative connotation), but instead about “solution finding”. Change your mindset—believing that life is going to work out in your favor is a lot different than a defensive mindset believing that the world is out to get you and is keeping you from succeeding. I read a quote once that I posted on The Strong Movement Instagram that I loved! It said, “Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.” So, remember that life happens for you, not to you!

Another thing I like to do is take a time out. In sports, time outs are a great opportunity to pause, take a deep breath, look at the big picture and readjust your game. One of the best things you can do is go outside, get some fresh air and go for a 20 minute walk. This helps clear your headspace, changes your state of mind and helps you refocus. If you need more than a timeout, take a day on the weekend to give your mind and body a rest – you can look at this like your half-time. Get enough sleep and rest, so that you can let your mind work at its best when it’s not stressed and full of major anxiety because now your “problem” is so big in your head.

If you’re looking at your big picture or your goal and feeling overwhelmed, you need to break it down into smaller action steps you can handle. You can create mini goals or projects that you can control and have a game plan for. I like to recommend, my 3 a day rule. The 3 most important things you need to make happen every day that are your top priority in moving that ball forward. If you need worksheet or daily planner to help you, I will send you one I created. You can subscribe on the website and I’ll email it to you- I’ll put all of the information on how to do that in the info box below. Remember, small daily progress creates confidence.

If you feel like you’re not even in the game yet or you’re on the sidelines or only know how to play defense or maybe you’re playing small right now. The best thing to do is to just start or take the first step. Do something that will put you in motion, whether it’s signing up to take a class, picking up the phone and calling someone or applying for that position in your club, organization or sorority—whatever it is that you need to do that will help you start to build momentum in the right direction. Opportunities start to open up when you start moving and doing things that will help get yourself “unstuck.” Take action.

Lastly, your vocabulary and choice of words—the words you use in conversation with other people and also your inner self-talk is extremely important in developing a winning offensive mindset. Words like “hope,” “should,” “maybe” and “try” are lukewarm. They don’t light a fire or spark action. Instead they keep you weak and inactive. Words like “must,” “do,” “can” and “definitely,” are much stronger and can have a greater impact or influence on not just your actions, but also your beliefs.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Daily Inspo. I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.