“You know that little voice in the back of your mind, telling you to stop? Well you can train that little voice. I taught mine to shut up.”

After having to pick a topic for our I-Search, I feel like everything after is child’s play. I’m not at all saying writing is easy, but now we all know that it is possible for us to write on one topic over the course of a quarter or semester. The I-Search paper helped build our confidence and helped make the process of picking a special topic go smoothly. This was a very enjoyable process for me and I think others felt the same way. I was on the struggle bus initially, but managed to make it through. Each time I was having more fun writing and the writing was flowing quickly!  It was fun to have people comment on my blog and to get to view others’ opinions on your writing and topic. Commenting on other classmate’s blogs was a nice way to interact with kids from other classes.

The only interview which I would have strongly desired and feel would have made an awesome interview and post later would be a professional. It would be a professional athlete who struggled and really had to push and change their state of mind in order to progress. Of course there are other people and other aspects to life where you "gotta risk it for the biscuit", but sports, in particular, interest me. 

 Messi was diagnosed with a growth-hormone disorder at a young age and is now one of the best players in the world.

In my first post I had several different ideas I could sort through, but I ran with this topic. I wish I could look into the other topics, like living the most fulfilling life and getting something out of every day. Writing about my feelings, thoughts, and interview really gave me a new perspective – a positive viewpoint.  Being mentally weak or not strong is indeed not a trait to be ashamed of. Maybe over-thinking is a characteristic of an introspective person, as I am. It could also be seen more in introverts, which would be interesting to research more about.

I’ll leave you with some closing thoughts regarding the topic specifically. It is good when you have to push your mental strength; it means you are getting somewhere!  It is not a huge concern. I thought that I was too weak for my own good, more emotional than everyone around me. Maybe so, but it is normal as there are hundreds of articles and research regarding my topic. I know had a research post, but I keep finding more. Here are 6 tips from a Navy SEAL to achieve mental strength:

• ·         Put teammates first
• ·         Second-guess yourself
• ·         Allow yourself to fear (what happened to “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”??)
• ·         Control your emotions physically
• ·         Break big goals into small targets
• ·         Have faith in yourself

This blog project inspired me to start reading again and I think this would be a good start, going right on with my topic. So, I want to read this book..

Also, I found this website with the best quotes on mental strength. You should read it or skim through them if you have time, it’s here maybe for a rainy day. http://www.mydnaexperiment.com/mindset/a-friday-message-80-quotes-on-mental-toughness/

Interview with The brother

Here is a sample of my questions underlined with just a few responses.
When was a time you experienced weakness with mental strength? Or have you ever?Is it possible to improve yourself, mentally, with a change of attitude or is that an innate behavior we do not have control over?

Positive reinforcement is so important. Having goals is different than knowing you can achieve them.I tested myself, it was hard and I didn't want to do it but I found that out facing adversity was difficult but I had to get back up, try again, and keep going. 

In your life, what has been the greatest mental challenge? College.
Specifically, what was the toughest?

Learning what to do with my newly found freedom. I felt failure in school and I saw people struggle with it. They were at a crossroads and didn't know what to do. I had to realize every mistake was not a life or death situation nor was it permanent. I could change my habits, and I did. 

What did you do?  

I set short term goals. I realized you can't take everything so seriously. People forget about the little steps, the things that are meaningful.

 Did you ever fail? Describe how it felt.Do you have a role model when it comes to this topic?

I can't think of a specific person, no. 

So,can a person change their views /way of approaching life ?

You can't change by sitting there and saying you will. You have to go outside your comfort zone, meet new people and learn. You can learn from others and take that to help you grow. 

Is mental/ inner strength all a personal journey?

 Interviewing my brother was a little different than my last interview, a psychology professor at UAH. I've always wanted to drill someone like the police in movies in those interrogation rooms. But this interview was more like a casual Starbucks chat regarding life. I was attempting to be formal but the interview was heading toward a more casual conversation. Maybe if he could have seen me note taking it would have been more official. Since my brother is also who I turn to for advice, he was also taking my questions in a way that made his answers in a didactic tone. His responses weren't too shocking, as they all were quite logical. The follow up questions were an exciting time, my favorite part of the interview; they kept me on my toes. I may change my technique next time by being more strict and telling him, or another detainee,  to answer my questions and not drift off to advice land. I think it all worked out in the end, however. His advice was very helpful for me and positive material to talk about in this post.  It definitely was a success and answered my questions and everything I was wondering for my topic. Now, I’ll take you from my interview to what I concluded with, all thanks to my brother for the examples and explaining everything to a tee.

The other day I was thinking about how bad I am at running and related it to my blog. I started telling my brother how it would be physically possible for me to run a half marathon (full one may be taking it too far), but I struggle getting myself to even do two or three miles continuously. I’m awful at conditioning and preseason for soccer. Running terrifies me and I hate it, but I can easily do it and surprisingly loved it, back in my prime days. As my brother was talking, I realized something and it sounds cheesy but hey I'll give it a stab; life’s like a marathon (in addition to the box of chocolates that I’m currently craving). My brother was saying that an issue that causes mental weakness comes from one’s way of thinking. Visualizing an endpoint, the moment of fulfillment is what some visualize. When I run, I just want to finish and the obstacles and perseverance mentality trip me up. That finish line looks like a place we want to be right there and now, it is the light at the end of the tunnel. But there’s going to be phases, or obstacles. They differ from person to person. You may fall, throw up, pass out, stop (what I do), but you have to push yourself. “Positive reinforcement: that is what builds your mental strength”. Being positive builds our confidence and provides reassurance. Of course the future, the finish, what we achieve in the next four years is important, but it’s not just the end result but the journey. I don’t need to get all philosophical now, but as I wrote in my I-Search last year, it is the journey, the run, the tests of mental strength that make life worthwhile. We need short term goals that help us live actively and focus on the present. We’re going to fail, but that is how we learn how to change to succeed and able to experience the value of success. I guess my brother is right, “You can’t take everything so seriously, you can’t dwell on your weaknesses forever.”

thought I could add this ^^^^ I saw it on Pinterest hahaha

What topic comes to mind when you think of mental strength? It could be the girly version of not being so emotional and crying after running over a squirrel or more of mental toughness, mind over matter. When I thought about writing about mental strength, I envisioned the idea of being able to handle issues better. I searched on my friend Google "mental strength" one of the first few articles that popped up was a Forbes article. I was extremely curious to see what they had to say about my topic.

The article happened to talk about mental toughness. Professionals, whether it be an athlete or businessman, has to have a high degree of mental toughness to be successful. (If you're wondering why this was on Forbes, they used a soccer analogy to express the world of business) It's not what happens on the field, but instead your preparation. Preparation is not only physical, but mental. Here are  the "Six Elements of Mental Toughness":
1) Flexibility
2) Responsiveness
3) Strength
4) Courage and ethics
5) Resiliency
6) Sportsmanship

Mental toughness is your ability to resist the urge of being down after disappointments.Another site, a body building site  was saying to build something else that is key, your toughness. They four ways it suggested was:
1) Just be tough
2) be consistent
3)be competitive
4) be resolute (determined)

This is such a relevant topic for me and it's been a real struggle recently. Trying to stay strong mentally does not come easy for me and I'm going to try and dig into that a bit more.

First writing Assignment: My "special subject"

For this project, I am going to write about self topics such as self improvement and gaining a stronger mental strength. I want to write about how to live the most fulfilling life, not getting caught up in routine, and being able to handle things better (mental strength aspect)

I picked this topic because I think it is something I think we all could work on and I think a lot about things like bettering myself (<-- that's my thesis). Last week, when I was watching the Chelsea game, even though most people here hate soccer, the commentator talked about the importance of mental strength when he was analyzing Torres. It made me think about my topic and so I added. Improvement is a big thing. People are always changing but I think it is important to not just view and criticize others, but realize everyone is imperfect and that is what makes us human. At the same time, we can fix or change little things along the way. My friends help with recognizing personal faults (hahaha). Today also was a big day in my reflection of being able to handle issues in life. It was the last time to play on one of the fields I have played on for years. The field I won my first big tournament on. The field I won my first state championship on. Before the whistle blew, my coach decided to blurt out that it was the seniors’ last game on this field ever. Pulling at our emotional heart strings, he got me thinking. Walking away from a ground of great memories was extremely difficult for me. For some, it was just another day; our season is not quite over yet. At the end of the day, I thought about how I associate memories and nostalgia too close together. “You can’t live your life with lasts, you can’t be happy that way”, my friend’s mom told us. You cannot and my mental capacity was not strong enough to deal with this, or things like this – lasts.

I'm a little nervous that I won't have enough to write about. Or I'll have writers' block. Or that my thoughts are too confusing and scrambled to put down on a computer.. where other people can see. Things on paper are so much more official. I need to appeal to a more general audience, not telling my story, but using to back up claims to my opinions. I hope that my writing will help me actually change something or apply what I'm writing about to my own life. I predict trouble with the question, it being too broad. My writing style is supposed to be more clearly cut and presentable, like a manual. Usually, I’m a little too random and scatter-brained; I need to make sure it doesn't come out looking like a journal entry, kind of like this one.