Excellence and Happiness

How do I find success in my classes and perform well in my sport while maintaining my mental health and happiness?

Achieving success both academically and athletically while maintaining happiness and well-being can be a challenging pursuit. Juggling all of life’s challenges can often lead to neglect in one area or another, but it is possible to address it all. Here are some top tips for collegiate student-athletes aiming to excel academically and athletically while prioritizing their happiness:

Stick to Your Goals

Maintain clear sight of your goals. It is easy to understand expectations and the work required to achieve those goals. The first step in preparation is to assess the level of commitment—both time and energy—you will put into the various areas of life to create reasonable-to-achieve and measurable goals. This gives you the framework to guide action and achieve the realistic goals you set. Once achieved, acknowledge and celebrate those wins, no matter how small, to build a positive response to the work and help maintain motivation towards your long-term vision. Recognizing your accomplishments contributes to a positive mindset and motivation to plan your next win and keep the momentum rolling. Building awareness of improvement helps ensure that progress is continued and built into long-term success.

Regular Reflection

College is an opportunity for personal growth and an exploration of what you want out of life, not what someone else has planned for you. It is therefore important to set aside time for reflection to assess your goals, priorities, progress, and physical and mental well-being. Regular self-reflection allows you to regulate behaviour dependent on the internal and external feedback you receive as needed to align with your values and desired outcomes. This will help you maintain perspective and progress towards becoming the person you want to be. We all experience different challenges and goals, so knowing the outcome and future you want is essential. This can only be realized through deep thinking and reflection. Your current situation is a journey on the way to your future, and how you act will indicate the outcome in the long term. While excelling academically and athletically is important, don't lose sight of the broader college experience. Enjoy the journey and the relationships you build along the way.

Do Not Neglect Self-Care

It is often easy to forget that we are just people and need time to recuperate. Student athletes are constantly moving from class to practice to study. Something that can often be neglected is self-care in our quest to get everything done. Whether that be missing a few hours of sleep to catch up on our studies or skipping meals to get to practice, we make sacrifices that, while sometimes necessary, should not be repeated consistently. It is vital that we maintain our physical and mental health to function at peak performance. You must find time to engage in activities that bring you joy and allow you to relax. It is more than okay to take a night off to recover or get away to do something fun when you have a few free hours.

One way to reset in a short space of time is by incorporating mindfulness practices into your routine, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises. It can be just a quiet moment of appreciation or reflection that provides a whole new outlook on your day. These practices can help you manage stress and enhance your overall well-being. When pursuing balance, be proactive in planning to provide stimulus-to-reward ratios. Have a long day of studying with the reward of a night of Netflix, or mini-golf with friends, or even an extra couple of hours sleeping. Find ways to help YOU recover your energy and maintain your focus over the long term.

Set Boundaries

Boundaries can help keep you focused or help you relax. Set boundaries for yourself and those around you. Setting boundaries can help provide balance, find time to hang out with friends, and time for independent study to focus on the work that needs to be completed. This may mean having to say no to going out late on a Friday night because of a competition on Saturday; instead, find an off weekend to say yes. Let those around you know what you want to do and what you need to do so you can enjoy yourself at the right times.

Set boundaries for yourself to prevent burnout, setting limits on your own workload. This can be a clear cut-off time for work; say I will relax after 7:30 p.m. so I can perform better tomorrow. We can be led to believe that it's just about will and motivation to do work, but we all have our cognitive limits, and it's important that we learn where they are and how to manage our mental focus. This is why it's essential to have designated times for academics, athletics, and personal life. Learning to say no to the unnecessary is crucial for maintaining balance. However, it is also necessary to say yes to new opportunities; it may be a campus event or a team social that can help rejuvenate your energy to get back to studying. Do not put yourself in a self-contained box, as college provides many opportunities for growth, which is a crucial part of the experience.

Build a Support System

Surround yourself with a supportive network, including teammates, friends, coaches, professors, and academic advisors. Having a variety of people that will boost you up can help you deal with challenges and celebrate successes. Take advantage of the academic support available, such as tutors, study groups, and academic advisors. Don't hesitate to seek help; campus resources are there to ensure you succeed in the classroom and support you when you are finding it hard. Maintain open and easy communication channels with coaches, professors, and teammates to let them know if you are facing challenges or need assistance. Effective communication is key to managing expectations; ensure that both you and your coach or professor can align these expectations.

Embrace a Growth Mindset

Adopt a growth mindset and view challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement. This perspective will contribute to resilience and a positive attitude, which are the foundations of success in any arena of life. When you view life as a place full of opportunity and your actions determine your destiny, you will become more grateful and appreciate everything that occurs, which will allow you to enjoy the process of development.

Balancing academics, athletics, and happiness is a continuous process that requires self-awareness and adaptability. Don’t get caught up too much in always doing “the right thing."  While you generally receive outcomes due to the efforts put in, taking the occasional break will allow you to maintain the effort in the long term and provide more balance. You can strive for excellence while enjoying a fulfilling college experience by integrating a few of these strategies.