Running with 'Motivation'. From a College Athlete

Antiguan and Barbudan former College Athlete Eleka sits down with Beauty and Wellness Writer Shanice DK.

A lot of times, we as humans need to see others excelling in order to get a little push for ourselves. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being inspired by someone and wanting to be successful yourself.

For me, I look up to people who I see every day, working hard and achieving their goals. At this point in my life, I am most inspired by my parents, siblings, the majority of my friends, my spouse, other bloggers and a few people on social media.

One great friend that I am inspired by is my Best Friend Eleka Hughes Joseph. Eleka and I have been best friends for over 8 years. She is a recent college athlete and university graduate, who worked while doing it.

She is the true definition of an EDUCATED BLACK WOMAN ON THE RISE.
Eleka has inspired and motivated me in ways no one ever has and for that reason, I have started a new blog series called ‘Motivated People’. Each week one highly motivated and successful person will be featured. My hope is that you too will be inspired by these people.

If they can do it then you can too.

The following was written my Eleka in response to the three (3) titled questions.

What motivates you?

I am motivated by:
Targeting goals.  At the beginning of each year I set goals I wish to accomplish ( I write them down in my planner) and a time frame I would like to accomplish said goals.

Learning new things. This world is full of information and experiences and I will never know the half of it.

Competition. I am an athlete after all so I always strive to win. Most times, however, my competition is myself. I’m always striving to be a better version of myself. Whether it be running a new personal best, improving a test grade or figuring out a complex problem.

I like to see positive results in others. I try my best to help as many people as I can, but it’s not about the praise so I never publicize my help. It’s about feeling good, knowing that you can make a difference in someone else’s life.

As a college athlete, how did you manage work, school, and sports?

The main thing was getting organized and trying to stay organized. I had to manage my time and plan my weeks. I had my planner and I planned almost every day: my shifts at work, practice times, the days I had gym and rehab as well as class times. Whenever there were gaps in my day, that’s when I would get homework and assignments done, often this was after 12am.

I tried to keep my weekends light as possible, quality ‘me’ time. My rule was to keep my Saturday’s free of school work for the sake of my sanity. Sunday’s were for music, Netflix and assignments. In the offseason, I worked 10 -12 hours on a Saturday, I didn’t like it but I had to make the money (bills don’t pay themselves).

My hardest time was during the season when I had track meets some Fridays and every Saturday. The problem was I now had to work on Sundays so most of my studying would be late night or early mornings (so much for getting the required rest athletes need). It all comes down to organization, time management and to procrastinate as least as possible ( of course I procrastinate sometimes). All in all, it was worth it.

As a college athlete, do you Believe that participation in sports will increase productivity in other areas of your life?

Absolutely! Sports encourages time management, discipline, dedication, competition, and sportsmanship. I think many athletes do better academically contrary to popular belief. Sports requires memorization, repetition and goal setting which can be transferred to the classroom. Sports encourages you to push your limits ( tired after 7 300m and coach says “last one and it better be your best one”), just as you have push past your comfort zone in all other aspects of life.

Sports teaches teamwork and problem-solving skills. Even if you’re in an individual sport such as track and field you run relays and you train with others so you need to communicate.

Let’s mention the health benefits. Sports improve cardiovascular health, reduces blood pressure, helps to manage weight etcetera.
The biggest one for me is most times sports is a stress relief if you love what you do. I cannot mention how much I look forward to going to the gym as my way of blowing off steam and loosening up. The gym is truly one of my happy places.

Summing it up

First things first, Thank you Eleka for being the first feature and again I say congratulations on all your successes. You deserve it!

You are the definition of extraordinarily motivated! Keep Shinning and making Antigua and Barbuda proud.

(You can connect with Eleka on Instagram by clicking here. )

 

My take away.

You may not like how much hard work success requires but you have to do it anyway. As Eleka said ‘Bills don’t pay themselves’. This can be applied to all areas of your life.  Also, you must take some downtime for purposes of self-care, self-celebration, and self-love. (Read my last blog entry “The Importance of Self- Celebration”  by clicking the link.)

As you saw, Eleka did this on the weekends in order to keep “her sanity”.

What motivates you? Drop it in the comments below because I want to know.

Until next time. Thank you for reading and always remember you are beautiful and my purpose is simply to remind you.

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Shanice DK- Loc’d Hair Content Writer