It’s never easy when an injury sets you back in sport, and yes, I have had my fair share of experience. Although never ideal, injury in sport is a key aspect of learning resilience and building trust in your ability to deal with adversity.
These are some of the key things I have learned through my experience with injury in sport:
Cultivate Your Team of Support
Injuries aren’t managed in isolation. Building a team of support both physically and mentally to help you navigate injuries is key.
Whether it is working with a physiotherapist or medical team to rehab the injury, talking with a mental health professional to help keep your mindset positive and present, or having a friend to call and vent with when you’re feeling blue, a team will allow you to make sure all aspects of your physical and mental are being addressed.
You don’t have to do it alone.
Set Daily Goals
When you experience an injury, it can be hard to imagine how weeks and months down the road you will fully recover. This is why it is so important to prioritize and focus on daily goals.
When I tore my ACL six months before the Olympics, it was hard to imagine how I would get back to health to compete and qualify in time. When I started to focus on the micro-goals, my mindset became much stronger. Sometimes my goals were as simple as skating for 15 minutes, or calling a friend for support.
Celebrating the little wins as you are on the road to recovery will keep you present and feeling accomplished. Small steps forward are still forward movement.
Cultivate Balance and Perspective Outside Sport
Although for many elite athletes, their primary focus is their sport, injury can be a good time to connect with other aspects of life outside sport.
Finding balance is so important when you have an injury because it gives you other activities to feel a sense of accomplishment with. It also gives you time to reconnect with hobbies you might not have as much time to do.
Remember Injuries are Temporary
Most importantly, always remember injuries are a temporary setback. If you can see the silver lining in having an injury and make the most of it, you’ll be back to full strength sooner than you think possible.
