Playing football consistently is something that will keep you disciplined and grounded if you stick with it. However, that can be taken away when you pick up an injury. Last August, I severely broke my ankle playing football which prevented me from playing for the rest of the season. It happened when someone on the opposite team put in a late challenge from behind that caught my ankle on the way in. It was something similar to Eduardo da Silva's ankle break that he picked up playing for Arsenal back in 2008 (if you know, you know). I had to get a pretty big surgery done to realign everything and doctors told me it would be at least 12-18 months before I'd see a football pitch again. That's the best-case scenario with physiotherapy doing its thing. When all this happened I was devastated. I still am. Being away from the pitch and the rest of my teammates is a very lonely place, especially given the progress I was making on the pitch. To this I would say, Don't take football for granted. It can all be taken away from you in an instant. And if you do unfortunately manage to get your injury yourself. Make sure you do everything in your power to get back to the pitch. Physiotherapy. Supplementation. Dietary. Other forms of exercise. And study what you can from the game. When you pick up any injury, it's so easy to fall down the rabbit hole of bad habits simply because you are not in that disciplined environment anymore. And that's coming from my personal experience. Crap food, not exercising, alcohol, drugs, fap, you name it. All it does is make things worse. Ten times worse. It's up to you to create that disciplined environment for yourself. Join communities like this one. You're not alone in the process. You've got this!

This can help you in everyday life, get it a read and let me know if it's helpful. Argument discussed: -stress control -cyrcadian rhytm optimization -increase focus -improve sleep -recover from a poor night sleep And much more...

Most of you are stressed and you don't know it. Classical symptoms: apathy, lethargy, feeling unproductive, not motivated. But recent studies show a new list of symptoms Atypical symptoms: can’t shut off from work or brain. Addiction to work. It is interfering with your day-to-day life. What is stress? Stress is of two types Acute stress vs Chronic stress before that a quick science lesson. Most of the time we use our "Prefrontal cortex" Associated with strategic and logical thinking, memory, planning and organization. But when we are stressed we use our amygdala, the emotional centre, which has not evolved the way other parts of our brain have. Flight or fight (FoF)response or stress response Think about your ancestors. When they saw a threat like a tiger, they'd react in FoF, they'd have increased their heart rate and intake of oxygen and blood shunts away from the vital organs and into the body so they could either fight or run away. Then after that acute stress is over you have a moment to recalibrate. But in this era all of our stress is chronic, financial, relationships, jobs, studies, etc when it is chronic the FoF is constant often low but always constant and it leads to burnout, as your brain does not get time to rest or recharge. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, coal miners would bring caged canaries into the coal mines with them. Canaries are more sensitive to toxic gases than humans. They’d sing and If canaries would stop singing, it signalled the presence of dangerous gases, and the miners would evacuate the area. Our bodies also send out warning signs when we are under chronic stress. These warning signs can be physical, such as headaches, fatigue, or difficulty sleeping. Or emotional, such as anxiety, irritability, or depression. How to know if you're lazy or you're stressed? If you procrastinate you become stressed but if you are stressed then you procrastinate. That same cycle is seen with emotional states like anxiety, and depression.

I wish I could have told myself this years ago, or even a few months ago. I was always an extroverted kid and I always was trying to go out and hang out with friends, and I even put that before training on my own or doing schoolwork. I never wanted to miss out, and I got used by my friends and was always mistreated at every hangout. I always went home thinking, "Maybe I could have skipped this one day and done some extra work, I wouldn't have missed out on much. But I would just repeat the cycle over and over again. I got my grades for the second semester and they were terrible, I took extremely challenging classes and didn't have the time for it. I was not excelling in football either, constantly finding myself on the bench for my high school and club. I joined this community to make a change and try to become a better person, but I'm not sure if I'm ever going to do it.

There are basically 3 traps most people fall into when setting goals. 1. The Compensatory goals: Let's say you have been slacking in the gym or you have failed in the class, You set a goal telling yourself I'll pass this class this time, and not only that you'll actually get straight As. Or you skipped the gym for 1 week, now you'll work extra this week. These goals are born out of pure emotions You set yourself to failure in the most humiliating fashion. " You cannot land on top of a mountain in one jump!" 2. The Fantasy Trap: Dreams are essential, but goals need to be grounded in reality. Aspire to a six-pack or becoming a millionaire? Fantastic! But setting such fantastical goals as your sole focus can be demotivating. You miss out on the satisfaction of tracking progress, and feeling the incremental gains that fuel passion and keep you going. Adopt a SMART approach to goal-setting: - Specific: Clearly define your goal. Instead of "get fit," aim for "run a 5k in six months." - Measurable: Quantify your goal. Track your workouts, monitor your progress, and celebrate milestones. - Attainable: Set realistic goals, challenging yourself but not setting yourself up for failure. - Relevant: Ensure your goals align with your values and aspirations. - Time-bound: Give your goal a deadline. This creates a sense of urgency and keeps you accountable. Break down ambitious goals into smaller, measurable steps. Imagine a video game where each workout earns you "progress points" towards your six-pack trophy. Celebrating these mini-achievements builds motivation and keeps you engaged in the long run. 3. The moving goal post: Reaching a goal is exhilarating and on top of that most of us shift our finish line so often. Constantly pushing the goalpost can drain your energy and leave you feeling like you're never good enough. We need to understand properly how to progressively overload our work. Bonus Tip: Share your goals in the comments and support each other's goals