Surround yourself with positive people...

In any Judo players' career, there will be periods of "Ups" and "Downs"...it is inevitable. The sport can be tough, brutal and unforgiving at times. There is no place to hide on a judo mat. It is how we deal with this ups and downs that will define the Judo player and person we want to become.

I have seen many promising Judo players quit before their time. They never reached the levels and results they were capable of. I suppose there are a number of reasons for this...one being the ability to keep going when the going gets tough.

I have competed for over 20 years now, however it is only recently that I realised how important is is to surround yourself with positive people. Recently, I was training with the New South Wales Squad when I suffered an injury. It is serious enough that I have undergone yet another operation.

When I received confirmation of the injury from my Doctor, I was shocked. My husband was with me and probably looked more devastated than me

. I had to make a decision there and then on which path to take. There were a million things running through my mind. I rang two people that I know will give a balanced view and spoke with my husband before returning to the Doctor and saying, "Lets do it". I was booked in there and then for surgery.

I made the decision there and then to continue. I did this because I had the support of the people that mattered. As one of these persons put it..."you stop when there is a wall you can no longer climb over....when you no longer have the will to climb over it...." I thought about this and realised that this wall was not too high, and I would have major regrets if I gave up climbing it now.

In the days to come, I had to speak to a number of people and advise them of my situation. This is where you come to realise the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people. People will sense your aura and are affected by your thoughts, and vice versa. Well all I'm going to say here, is that negative people are no longer welcome to call....if you want to give out a negative vibe...you are not welcome, good bye! These people have no part to play, no right to be a part of my dream. They will bring you down when times are tough and you start to doubt yourself. They may not even say anything .....but their silence says it all......get rid of them!!!!!

There are a few guys on the Aussie team that I can think of who are very good at this. I wont embarrass them by naming them here...but I think they do it well. I am pretty confident that faced with a similar situation...it would only be speed hump to them when others see it as a mountain.

Positive thinking and negative thinking are attitudes....they are just points of view...which one will you take?

See you back on the mat soon!