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Athletes and Mental Health

Austin Tchikatilov • September 10, 2022

You ARE LIMITLESS

At the most fundamental level, you are made up of energy. Where your attention goes, your energy flows. The beauty of free-will is that we can mindfully choose where to place our attention and focus our energy so that we can attract abundant success in whatever field we wish. So, with that in mind, think about what do you really desire in life and where does this desire come? This exercise emphasizes the importance of being intentional. Without intention you have no direction, so I encourage you to take time to meditate and set an intention each and every day which can act as an anchor and keep you grounded. Once you’ve answered those questions for yourself you may feel a new sense of empowerment with the essential understanding that you have everything you need within you to thrive!

 

As a lifelong elite athlete, I’ve realized the importance of mindset for performance, health, and career longevity. First and foremost, you need to realize that you are FAR more than an athlete. You are a beautiful human being with tremendous superpowers that extend far beyond the soccer field, basketball court, or swimming pool. You are truly limitless and are only limited by the confines of your own shadows and other people’s projections that you accept as reality. A lot of mental health issues in sports arise when athletes think they are not good enough. When they equate their performance with their self-worth. When they are overly critical instead of being compassionate to themselves. So, if you find yourself stuck in this vicious cycle of performance anxiety, judgment, and fear; the first step is becoming aware of this negative pattern so that you can rewrite your own story from a place of gratitude, love and compassion.

 

What if instead of worrying about a future game or perseverating over a bad loss, you focused on being in the present moment? Remember where your attention goes your energy will flow. So if you can find peace in the present moment, even during tough competitions and stressful life events then you will better equipped to handle whatever comes your way. One of the best ways to get out of your head and into your body is by focusing your attention on the breath. As athletes, how on earth can we enter the flow state where we are totally immersed in the activity if we are up in our heads; thinking, worrying, and constantly analyzing? The breath is the gateway to the present moment so something as simple as taking a moment to deeply inhale and exhale through the nose can serve as a reset. It sends a signal to your nervous system that everything is OKAY. Even though we may be in sympathetic fight or flight mode during competition, it allows us to connect to our limitless potential, both as athletes and as human beings.

 

        If you are an athlete struggling with mental health issues please know that you are not alone! People are here to support you on your path, but you need to be your biggest advocate and best friend. It’s up to each and every one of us to do our own personal work so that we may work through past traumas and tribulations that may be contributing to current maladaptive thought patterns. Although it is extremely difficult, we all need to take the time to shine a light on our own shadows and work on improving them so that we can show up in the world as our highest selves. In fact, mental health issues may be a blessing in disguise because it helps us recognize that there is an underlying issue that needs to be addressed which can further contribute to our growth and evolution. Ultimately, I believe that mental health issues arise because the spirit is crying out for more self-love and compassion. Lastly, if athletes can love themselves unconditionally, connect to the present moment, and focus their energy; then they will set themselves up for success in sport and in life!

 

Finding Purpose in Everyday Life

By Austin Tchikatilov • March 21, 2023
Many times, people are led to believe that they must find some extravagant meaning or greater purpose in their life. Sometimes, it is beneficial to take a step back. Take a breath, and realize that a much simpler, less daunting approach is not only easier on the mind but can lead to that desired destination. It’s great to have big visions, dreams, and aspirations; but what are the smaller steps along your journey that will help shape you into your ideal self and connect you to your higher purpose. Focus on the little things. There is beauty in simplicity. It’s not going to look or feel the same for everyone and that’s perfectly fine. It can be as easy as setting an intention first thing in the morning to have as an anchor throughout your day. This intention could be a certain feeling you want to evoke within yourself, or a task you want to direct your energy towards that day. This task can relate to doing things for yourself and others. For example, maybe you want to give someone an unsolicited compliment or show your appreciation for a loved one, or be more present with your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. By shifting your daily focus to this certain micro-goal, you may experience more joy and passion which can guide you towards your ultimate purpose in life. Take small steps and celebrate the little wins and notice how your bodymind reacts and how you feel more aligned with your spirit. By taking a step back and focusing on simplicity (while not completely forgetting the big picture), you will feel more fulfilled and empowered to share your unique gifts and experiences with others!

Life School

By Austin Tchikatilov • February 20, 2023
What if I told you that there was a school that we all go to every single day that has the potential to enhance our intelligence, level up our consciousness, and bring us the utmost peace, joy, and love? Sounds like a pretty enticing school right? Even for the people who don’t consider themselves “school people,” naturally we are all attending life school whether we choose to embrace it or not. Every single day we have a unique opportunity to learn more about ourselves, other people, and the world around us. The essential question is, are you bored and dozing off during class or are you curious and engaged with this wonderful teacher who is here to help us grow and evolve? Take a moment to reflect on your life recently. Have you just been going through the motions? Do you find yourself wrapped up in responsibilities and to-do’s? Are you waking up in the morning with a zest for life and excitement for what the adventure of the day may bring? I encourage you to do some digging and see what you find! Maybe you’d like to make some changes to your normal routines or work on building a new skill to help you achieve your goals. The beautiful thing about life school is that there are no grades or pressure to perform (unless you place that burden on yourself..). Life school is dynamic and ever-changing while providing us with many opportunities to learn important lessons through relationships, finances, work, and various challenges that will arise at times. If you are an open-minded student who is not chasing a final result but instead is focused on cherishing each step in the journey then you can begin to embrace the gift of life school and live a life inspired by gratitude and high vibes!

Building Your Tribe

By Austin Tchikatilov • January 23, 2023
The need to belong is one of the essential needs for all human beings. You know that feeling when you’re with a group of friends or family members and everyone is vibing and you feel safe, secure, and happy? This is a simple example of the visceral feelings you get when you are with your people and are genuinely enjoying the company, camaraderie, and deep, fulfilling conversations that often ensue. Obviously, your family and bloodline form the foundation of your tribe. When we are born, much of what we learn about the world and how things work is garnered by what our parents teach us, but also what we observe about human interactions through our innocent child-like lenses. Inevitably, we will take on some of our parents’ and peers’ own views, beliefs, and biases as we grow up which will, in part, influence the kind of people we choose to surround ourselves with. Now, once we start to do some deep identity digging (for most of us this occurs during adolescence) we can begin to understand who we truly are at our core by pondering the mysterious questions of life like, who am I? Why am I here? What do I want to manifest? After doing some soul searching and becoming clear with who YOU are, beyond any labels you may have been given by others or projections and pressures put on you by your parents; then you can mindfully choose who you want to be surrounded by, thus expanding your tribe. You see, once you feel strong and solid in your authentic self, it becomes easier to attract people that are vibrating at the same frequency. For instance, if you are operating from ego frequency the majority of the time which is characterized by things like fear, judgement, and scarcity; at a subconscious level you will attract people that have that same mindset since they are vibrating at a similar level. Remember, everything is energy and energy is everything. The law of attraction teaches us that “like” attracts “like.” Therefore, if we want to attract positive, loving, generous, and joyful people into our lives and expand our tribe, we must first expand these attributes within ourselves. Our outer reality is a reflection of our inner state of being. So, in essence, if you want to build your tribe up with honest, peaceful, strong, loving people; you need to start working on building these qualities up within yourself through various practices such as mirror work, affirmations journaling, meditation, yoga, prayer, etc. Then you will become more open and receptive to meeting people that can quite literally help change your life in amazing ways by offering new perspectives, ideas, and insights; and most importantly bask in the love that serves as the fuel for your growing high vibe tribe!

Becoming Attuned to the Wisdom Within

By Austin Tchikatilov • January 15, 2023
As human beings, we are all born with innate intelligence. We don’t have to tell our cells to divide, our tissues to grow, or our organ systems to develop and help keep us alive. These processes occur naturally because we are equipped with a divine intelligence that acts as a facilitator for our growth and development as well as a healer when we sustain injuries. This innate intelligence that our bodies carry enables us to be radically resilient to stressors that we endure throughout our lifetimes. Think of the last time you got a cut and it healed.. innate intelligence intervened. Think of the last time you were sick and your body spiked a fever to clear out unwanted pathogens… innate intelligence intervened… think of the last time you broke a bone or strained a muscle and it got better… again innate intelligence to the rescue. Clearly we possess an incredible amount of wisdom within, now the question is how do we consciously connect to our innate intelligence so that we can unlock our utmost potential to heal, love, and serve ourselves and others. Take a couple minutes before bed and lie down somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes and begin to scan your body from head to toe. Notice any sensations as you guide your awareness to different regions of your body. If you sense tightness or restrictions anywhere see if you can invite your breath and awareness into that space while imagining the release of any stuck/stagnant energy. You can also visualize a colorful light, maybe white, green, or blue, that courses through your body removing anything that no longer serves you. This is a powerful exercise that you can use to connect to your innate intelligence and intuition as certain thoughts, ideas or insights may come to you during this practice. The most important thing is that you are open to listening to the messages your body is trying to convey to you. The body is so intelligent that it gives us signs and symptoms when things are not working well. If we do not heed its warnings, this may turn into dis-ease as the message gets louder. However, if you check in with yourself on a regular basis through body scans, meditation, journaling, etc.; then you will truly become attuned to the wisdom within and effectively raise your vibrations!

New Year.. New Possibilities

By Austin Tchikatilov • December 31, 2022
With every new year comes feelings of hopes and aspirations. Often times, people set goals and resolutions in an attempt to improve their lives in some form or fashion. As 2022 comes to a close, you may feel called to take time by yourself to self-reflect on all that has happened to you as well as FOR you. As you mentally review the past year you probably can recall the momentous triumphs, saddening defeats, as well as new bonds formed with other people and previous bonds strengthened. I encourage you to perform this introspection with an open heart and mind. There is no need to judge yourself. No matter how crazy, difficult, or wonderful 2022 was for you, realize that it is ALL part of this beautiful thing we call life. Everything that has happened in your past has helped shape who you are today. Once you’ve done some digging; new thoughts and feelings may arise in your awareness... COOL, that is the first step! Once we become more in tune with ourselves through deep introspection, we can begin to identify parts of ourselves that we want to work on improving. Maybe you feel that this past year you’ve been very emotionally reactive and you’d like to become more zen amidst challenging circumstances. Or perhaps you find yourself looking for external validation from others and you’d like to start providing yourself words of affirmation. The most essential part of this process is that you ARE NOT overly critical of yourself and instead show yourself unconditional love and compassion. Instead of setting specific outcome goals for 2023, what if you set some specific intentions for what you want to cultivate and how you want to FEEL! The flow of life is dynamic and never static so what would you like to manifest and attract in 2023? 2023 will bring us many new opportunities, the key question is what direction do YOU want to go and what are the feelings/emotions that are paving that path? A road charged with fear, scarcity, and lack of passion will lead to a very different place than one of love, abundance, and gratitude. When we embody high vibration emotions, we tend to attract people, things, and opportunities of the same frequency which can lead to greater harmony in life. Be intentional about how you would like to show up in the world in 2023. You may not be able to control some of the obstacles thrown in your path, but you can ABSOLUTELY control how you choose to respond! By getting clear with your intentions now, you will not only be better equipped to handle difficulties as they arise this upcoming year, but you also will be more open and receptive to opportunities (gifts) that are aligned with your divine purpose!

Welcome

By Austin Tchikatilov • October 7, 2021
Welcome to my playground! This site was created to help empower you to live vibrantly and I am here to share my love, wisdom, and experiences to help guide you on this journey we call life. No matter who you are or where you come from, you deserve to THRIVE during your existence on Mother Earth. The information and content that will be presented on this page is for your own educational purposes. Take what resonates with you and leave the rest. If you have specific questions about fitness, nutrition, performance, and biohacking then I i invite you to consult me personally via a discovery call. For those of you who are seeking a more intimate personal development platform, the High Vibe Tribe membership is available if you feel called to join. Lastly, remember to BE YOU, BE LOVE, and BE PRESENT!
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