Sometimes the pressure is going to get to you. Not game-time pressure, life pressure. The weight on your shoulders tends to stack up without you even realizing it in college athletics. So, what can you do when it’s the end of the semester, final exams are coming up, your social life has been nonexistent, and you know you have a significant amount of work left to do in your sport?

You’re merely surviving at this point. All you want to do is close your eyes and time travel to when it’s over. I hate to break it to you, but that’s not happening. The only way to get through it is:

Acknowledge the moment for what it is

Shitty. There’s no denying it. It’s going to get tough before it gets easy, but that’s just it, a hump. One small hump in the grand scheme of things. Sure there will be more humps to get over in the future, but that’s a future you problem. You can’t let this moment become bigger than it is or else it will consume you. All you can do is take it one day at a time. Know that it will end and that you’ll come out the other side like you always do. In doing so, you’re building up your tolerance for future tough times.

Let it out

You can’t do it alone. If you bottle it up, it’s going to come out one way or the other, and most likely not the way you want it to. AKA crying in the bathroom between practice and class. We all like to put ourselves on the “no one will understand” island when in reality, you’re surrounded by 15+ girls who, do in fact, understand. Your sisters are likely processing similar emotions, so in bringing them to light, not only are you helping yourself, you could be helping them as well.

Embrace it head-on

You don’t step up to your opponent timidly. You put on your meanest mug and you think to yourself, “They will not beat me.” The same applies to these periods. If you walk into the situation with resistance, it will eat you alive. Sometimes it takes getting eaten alive (personally, more than a few times) to understand the power of embracing it. When you embrace it, you’re in attack mode. There’s only one speed and that’s full throttle. When you do this, the power is taken away from the situation and put entirely in your hands. If you want to give yourself a fighting chance, you have to own it. This brings me to my final point…

Own who you are

The last thing I want you to think is that having breakdowns, self-doubt, and feelings of being defeated are unacceptable. That’s just ridiculous. You’re allowed to experience all of those things. In fact, I think it’s healthy. Give yourself grace when you fall, misstep, and even fail because that’s not you. You are someone that gets back up and keeps going. That’s you, so don’t forget.