How Can You Be a Better You?

Being a student-athlete at UW-Madison, I’m fortunate to have learned some pretty great life lessons. One I’d like to share has greatly impacted my life. Here’s why…

My first two years of college were pretty rough as far as how I felt emotionally. So rough I often times felt like Stanley from The Office. If you don’t like The Office or have never seen it, here is a pretty good blurb/video about Stanley from the Internet that I found…

“Stanley is a serious, hardworking, but a thoroughly grumpy and disgruntled employee so lacking in interest in his surroundings that in one cold open he fails to notice a series of pranks being played on and around him. Stanley dislikes and disrespects his boss Michael Scott.” – Wiki

That’s basically how I felt about my first two years. I was a grump, not interested in volleyball, and didn’t care much for the things going on around campus. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the city of Madison with all my heart, but I was just a negative Nancy.

My junior year of college, things began to turn around. I was confronted about my negative attitude and realized that I needed to make a change. In practice my coach asked the team how we could strive to become better. He said that when you try harder to become a better you, you try harder in other aspects of your life.

His example was: If you’re working hard in school to get things done on time, you’re able to focus and maintain a balance in life. Focusing on one aspect can impact the other for example; work, practice, relationships, etc.

Being a better you and embodying an optimistic outlook on challenges that you may face along the way can help. He told us “…When things get rough or obstacles arise to challenge back...” His mantra was “bring it!” a small but powerful message.

When we choose to eliminate all the negatives in our life, facing adversity becomes a bit easier every time. Just ask any of my teammates, they can attest to that.

So if you haven’t asked yourself already, ask yourself now. How can you be a better you?