Activity journal entry

Showing perseverance and commitment:

Are there ever feelings of doubt or wanting to skip practice?  If so how did I move through them?

Absolutely, there is always doubt or wanting to skip practice in order to avoid the things you don’t want to do. I move through them by imagining the fact that if I get through this certain practice I will feel better about myself mentally and physically. Going to the gym last week was very hard since I had to balance my physical and educational life properly and divide my work by balancing the gym at the same time. It is always hard to manage time, especially when commencing IB but struggling within the first week of this new journey will allow myself to learn from my mistakes and actually understand how to manage my time wisely.

How do I motivate myself to stay active?  

I motivate myself by pushing myself in limits that aren’t impossible but that is very challenging. This allows me to actually not fully go to the extent of going above and beyond but it allows me to push myself more than before, step by step.

What have I learned from this activity and how did this learning (ie a change in perception) apply to me as a person?

Going to the gym at least 3 times a week has taught me to really understand how important it is to be healthy and make sure that my own mental health is ok to keep going. A lot of people my age don’t care about how they feel physically or mentally, which has taught me to really know how to take care of myself.  This sort of learning taught me as a person, to keep going. There will be a wall that will try to stop you from keeping going, but allowing yourself to take a hammer and break it and fight for yourself is the most important thing to us as teenagers nowadays.

Taking on new challenges:

What new challenges have I taken on when doing this activity?

A new challenge that I have taken on when doing this activity, which is going to the gym, is being able to motivate myself to actually go. This last week has been incredibly hard for me since I had a lot to take on regarding school and personal issues, which has been very taught to handle, so being able to pick myself up last week to actually go to the gym has been very hard for me.

How have my perceptions of the sport changed over time?

My perception of going to the gym has drastically changed over time since I always thought I could do it at my house, but that is absolutely wrong. Going to the gym allowed me to step back from my home and have some alone time with myself and body. Going to the gym helped me pick myself up and stay motivated to keep going.

 How is the activity meaningful to me?

The activity is meaningful to me because it helped me get out of my comfort zone, and push myself to limits that I never thought I could achieve. I am so grateful that I am able to easily walk to the gym I go to, so reminding myself of that as well keeps me motivated.

What is the value of this sport or activity for me?

The value of this activity for me is that it allows me to see all the progress I have made in such a short time. I started going to the gym within the first week of school and I can really see all the positive mental and physical changes that I have from that day up to now.

How do I feel when I learn something new in this activity? Describe it. 

When I learn and try something new in the gym, it makes me feel respected and confident about myself. For a while I never really had respect for myself, and once I went to the gym on a current basis, it allowed me to look at myself in a different light which led me into thinking more positively, being more proactive in my life and mostly being confident in who I am as a person.

Strengths and areas for growth:

What are some things that I found out about myself that I didn’t know before?  Do I like these traits?  If so, how will I use them in the future?  If not, can I change them?

Some things that I found out about myself that I didn’t know before was the fact that I didn’t even know I could push myself to the extent that I have for the past two months. Ever since I started going to the gym, I have been happier and have had more self confidence about my mental and physical state. I will use this in the future by thinking this way increasingly about myself. Going to the gym doesn’t make me happier, it’s the fact of pushing myself to go to the gym makes me feel better about myself at a deeper level. I am incredibly proud of myself, and I know that I will continue on doing so.