Stand a little Taller

In a student-athlete fireside, BYU Vice President Richardson sympathized with those present that feel outside pressure from all angles. Everyone feels pressure. There is social pressure, academic pressure, family pressure, financial pressure, etc. Richardson advised to stand up straighter, smile, and remember who you are and whose you are.

Stand up straight, even if you feel things aren't going right.

Things will work out unless you choose to fail. In retrospect, our problems are never as big as they seem at the moment.

Smile, even when you think you have nothing to smile about.
By smiling on the outside, you will start feeling like you are smiling on the inside. Many people look up to you and the position you are in. They wish they had your problems.

Remember who you are and whose you are.
We each have self worth. We also belong to a family or larger organization. Our families and organizations claim us. We also need to remember that we represent them.

The Fearless Mind

Two months ago, Craig Manning, PhD taught the BYU Cheer Competition Squad about the mental preparation required before a performance. 10% of our brain usage is conscious and the other 90% is subconscious. What we fill our conscious with gets stored in our subconscious. In preparation for the competition, we have been filling our minds with positive thoughts and avoiding the negative so nothings negative is stored in our subconscious.

Before we left for UCA Collegiate Nationals, Manning spoke to us again. Now that we have gone through the physical and mental preparation, it is time to perform, Our routine is in our muscle memory, the subconscious, but we are still using the other 10%. If we do not occupy that space, fear of what will happen in the future enters the space and will affect our performance.

Throughout life we are required to perform. It may be that we are taking a test, giving a speech, or being interviewed for a job. Sometimes it seems that we don't have complete control over the outcome of our performance, but with the proper mental preparation we can overcome negative thoughts and have a successful performance.

Breakdown: 
For every negative thought, replace it with three positive thoughts
Picture yourself perfectly performing the task
Use power statements such as: "I GOT this." before and during a performance.

We are not FAILURES!

On Jan. 6, 2015, President Kevin J. Worthen welcomed BYU's staff and students back from  Christmas break. At the start of the new semester, he gave all of those present encouraging words of advice, "We will all fail, more than once, everyday... This does not mean that you or I are failures."

This statement struck me because I have recently gone through some trials in life. It is true that these trials caused by my failings have made me feel, at times, like a failure. Failing is a part of life, but I am not a failure. When I felt like giving up, I would just take a deep breath and do what I could. A failure is someone that falls down and stays down.

We need to accept that we will fail. NEVER give up! Get rid of the voice of discouragement inside your head.When we fall down, get back UP! We will all learn from our experience and become more resilient to our failings. We will learn that we can get through anything.

Rodney Atkins sings, "If you're going through hell, keep on going. Don't slow down. If you're scared, don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.