Staying Positive Through Injury

In my running career I have been injured more than I have been running (check out my first post “Unbreakable”). One of the biggest questions I receive from friends and followers is how I continue to stay positive and motivated when facing tough times. Although I appreciate the praise, the truth of the matter is: I don’t. However, I have become very good at developing mental and emotional tools to keep me smiling and working towards my goals no matter how hard I’ve fallen. I am pleased to get to share these tools with you all, and hope that they too make you unbreakable.

There is no sugar coating it: going through injury is tough. For starters, you are prevented from doing the sport you love; you miss out on doing an activity that brings you joy and makes you feel good. Chances are, your injury also prevents you from chasing after a goal you set for yourself. Maybe you were about to compete in a big race or play in a huge playoff game. It also isolates you from your teammates. Having to watch your friends compete from the sidelines or train in the gym alone while your teammates go out and run hurts in a “I’ve just been dumped” sort of way. Being injured can also be embarrassing and shameful. It can prevent you from being able to do simple things for yourself, like walk across campus or serve yourself food. And lastly, being injured hurts. Your body is in physical pain, sometimes so bad that you cannot sleep at night. Essentially, being injured is tough because you are hurting physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Given all stated above, staying optimistic and motivated when going through an injury is hard. Finding the power within you to crutch to the gym, hop on a bike, and stare at a screen for 90 minutes is challenging. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there time and time again. But what I also know is that there are tools you can cultivate within yourself to keep lighting that spark of hope, even when those days turn to weeks, even if those weeks turn to months, even if those months turn to years.

These tips below are the six reasons I have been able to pick myself up time and time again. These six tips are how I have been genuinely happy (if not happier) going through injury. These six tips are likely different from other articles you have read. These six tips are the reason that I have had all my best performances (PRs, National Qualifiers, School Records, and a Divisional State Champion) straight off the bike. These six tips are how you too can emerge from an injury stronger than when you entered, happier, more confident, and speedier too.

Tip #1 : Compartmentalize Your Heart

One of the most powerful things I have learned to do when going through injury is to compartmentalize my heart.

You are an athlete, this is true. But you are also SO much more than that. I repeat, you are so much more than just an athlete. Lean into that, but do not forget that although you cannot do your sport right now, you are STILL an athlete.

This is how I want you to compartmentalize your heart:

For starters, let’s start with the section of your heart related to your sport.

In that area, feel the emotions: sadness, frustration, hopelessness, etc. In order to heal, you must first feel.

"In order to heal, you must first feel"

If you do not accept the negative emotions and do your best to work through them, you will find it very hard to move past them. So sit with the negativity, even when it is uncomfortable. With time and patience, the magnitude of these emotions will decrease and they will be replaced with positive emotions. But this progression must be natural- do not force your way through this emotional process. I promise you will be better off because of it.

The biggest tip I can offer to you is to not let the negativity you feel about being injured/out of your sport spread to other areas of your heart. By this I mean to not let your negativity about not being able to run impact your passion for your other hobbies or love in your relationships. This is important for so many reasons, but the main one is that you need to move on with your life and continue to flourish and thrive in other aspects while you let your body heal in its athletic sense. Being injured does not mean that you cannot find joy and chase after other goals that you have for yourself. Being injured does not mean that you cannot do fun things with loved ones. Being injured does not mean that you stop being kind to yourself. Being injured should not stop you from being successful and passionate about your job and studies. Allow yourself to continue to live your life as you would if you were fully healthy. Finding “normalcy” and “positivity” and “motivation” in other areas of your life will help you to feel optimistic and hopeful as an injured athlete.

Tip #2 : Pick Three People To Be Fully Honest With

If you are anything like me, you want people around you to think you are happy and strong even when you are feeling weak and sad. Some people would say that putting on a face is toxic and that instead you should tell people how you are really feeling. What I am here to tell you is that it’s actually okay to put on a face for most people- that you do not have to be vulnerable and honest with all you come across. But what I am telling you is that you must pick three people in your life who you will be fully honest, fully open, fully vulnerable with.

Here are criteria to search for in picking these three people in your life:

• Somebody who you know will be there for you no matter what. You trust that they will support you, no matter your emotional state

• Somebody who knows how to listen to you, and how to provide you love when you need it

• But also, somebody that knows the difference between when you need to be coddled gently and when you need to be given tough love and light a spark underneath you

For me, my three people are

1. An older friend that I look up to, somebody who has faced injury and athletic struggles similar to me. A friend who often knows me better than I know myself

2. My boyfriend, somebody who shows me that there is so much more to life than being an athlete. Somebody who carries me (both literally and figuratively) through injury

3. A teammate that understands what it’s like to go through what I’m going through. Somebody who I do not need to explain what it’s like - she already gets it

Learning to lean on these three people, even when it’s hard, even when it’s not instinctual for me, has actually been one of the best ways I’ve been able to heal. Being injured can feel so lonely, especially if your inclination is to isolate yourself when going through hard times. Seek out those three people in your life: whether it be a friend, a teammate, a relative, a therapist, a coach, a role model. I promise they will be there for you no matter what. I promise you are not burdening them when asking for help. I promise you will be glad you have their love, and that if the tables were to ever turn that you would be the first to help them.

Tip #3 : Stick To Routine

I have found that a common narrative told to injured athletes is “Being injured can be a good thing because it frees up so much time in your life to do other things”. I find this saying to be toxicly optimistic and puts unnecessary pressure on a healing athlete. Instead, I urge you to follow a different quote: “during abnormal times, do normal things”.

"During Abnormal Times, Do Normal Things"

When I am going through injury, my training actually takes up MORE time in my day than regular training. I spend more time on the bike than I spend running miles. I also spend much more time stretching, doing rehab, and driving all over to physical therapy sessions and doctors appointments. Thus, putting external pressure to take on MORE things when I am injured is both stressful and unrealistic. That is why I urge you to follow the second quote: stick to routine.

Through this I mean to structure your days in the way that you would pre-injury. For me, this means doing my crosstraining at the same time I would normally run. Doing my rehab exercises at the same time that I would normally lift. Continuing to eat at the same hours, study at the same hours, sleep at the same hours. I have found that keeping that normalcy in my routine has helped me to stick to schedule and follow my rehab training. Of course I am going to hop on the bike, of course I am going to do my rehab- it’s just what I do. Sometimes it’s better to not overthink and question, and to instead just go through the emotions and ride the wave of recovery.

Tip #4 : Pick an Injury Hobby

Following up after Tip #3, I do think that there is value in picking one new hobby or activity to try out when going through an injury. I am not saying force yourself to do too much, what I am saying is that picking a little activity can bring you joy and excitement in day to day life.

Personally, I have:

• A foot influencer instagram account

• A surgery fascination with coffee

• A heel podcast

• A femur passion for adventure

• And a shin blog (hehehe)

This hobby that you pick for yourself can be something big and powerful or something small yet meaningful. Commit to sticking with this activity throughout the course of your injury. Maybe it’s something that you give up when you heal and get back to your sport. Or maybe it’s something that changes your life and you bring into your healed routine.

Tip #5 : Start a Gratitude Notebook

This is a tool that I think everyone would benefit from using in their day to day life, but I have found it especially helpful when going through tough times.

I actually started my gratitude notebook when I was 10 years old. What kind of fourth grader thinks to keep a gratitude notebook?! Me. I guess that explains a lot.. LOL.

Ever since I was ten years old I have reflected on my days and life using this journal routine:

1. I start by writing my G1, G2, G3

   1. These are three things that happened in my day that I am grateful for. Sometimes I have much to pick from and end up having a G4, G5, G6, etc.. Whether it’s the best day ever, or a really tough day, search for the positivity and reasons to be grateful. I promise that you can find at least three

2. I then write out a K1

   1. This is something exceptionally kind that I did for someone else. Think of it as a way to give yourself a high five for doing something really nice for somebody else. It reinforces the power of kindness, and may even motivate you to look for ways in your day to help out a loved one

3. I follow it up with a K2

   1. This is something kind that you did for yourself. I have found this to be a very powerful tool on my journey of self love and self care. It’s important to be kind to yourself no matter your period of life, but especially when you are going through an injury

4. I end it with an E

   1. This is something I am excited for that is going to happen the next day. It can be big, like leaving on a vacation or starting a new job. Or it can be something small, like getting to start my day calm and with a cup of coffee. Find something that excites you and gets you happy to go to bed and wake up in the morning

I have found there to be so many benefits of using a gratitude journal. Use it for yourself, share this technique with a friend, and observe how much more beautiful your life becomes when you take time to reflect with gratitude and seek out kindness in your days.

Tip #6 : Believe in the Body’s Ability To Heal

This tip may be common sense to some, but harder to grasp for others. This sentence was first said to me by my high school coach and I will always be grateful for his words. When you are going through injuries, especially long term ones or cycles of pain, it is so easy for negative thoughts to creep in.

Thoughts like: ‘I’ll never get back to my sport’, ‘I’ll never be out of pain’, ‘I’ll never be as good as I was before this happened to me’. When these thoughts come in, you must counteract them with positive beliefs, trusting that your body will heal with proper care and rest.

My coach preached to me that our bodies were designed to heal themselves. Think about when you get a cut. The body knows what to do, first the cut dries up. Then it becomes a scab. And eventually, the scab fades away and it’s like the booboo was never there in the first place. There is so much power in applying this mindset towards bigger, more severe injuries.

For example, when I get a stress fracture I remind myself that with time and care, my bone will heal and become strong yet again. It may take weeks, it may take months, but it will heal. Trusting this process, and believing in the body’s ability to come back from even the most awful of injuries, is an easy mental tip to stick to and an immensely powerful thing to follow.

All in all, these six tips are the reason I am here before you today: happy, confident, and strong. Motivated to crosstrain for weeks on end. Excited to do my rehab exercises. Grateful for the life I get to live. The reason that no matter how hard I fall, I am able to keep smiling and keep grinding. I hope these tools help you to do the same, and to know that no matter what you’re going through: you are not alone, you are going to heal, you are an incredible person and athlete, and that you are UNBREAKABLE.