PGP, the PLP version of a Careers course, stands for “Personal Growth Plan.” Theres a lot of emphasis put of the growth aspect of this plan, so a course called PGP would evidently be all about self-improvement and, well, growth. The cornerstone project of this course this year was surrounding a “self help” book, and how we can take what we learned from the book and create an artifact to showcase our learning. I’ve never been the one to read self help books. If I’m being honest, some of the more poorly written ones make you feel small as the writing can come across from condescending, so picking a book I would enjoy was the first step of this project for me.

My parents recommended The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down by Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson. The Brave Athlete addresses the world of sport, and how your mental state and habits can affect you as an athlete. A big theme I took away from this book was that the first step to success was understanding. Simon’s PhD in sports psychology and Lesley’s experience as a world champion triathlete made for an incredibly engaging read. I said before that finding a book I would enjoy was important to me and what made this book interesting was that the authors would use real life issues that athletes like Lesley experience when they play, and then introduce the science behind why these issues arise. It wasn’t a “this is what is happening, here’s how to fix it” type of book. They really tried to tackle the “how” of the mental struggles they addressed, which made it a really good read. 

Our first assignment of the project, an author biography, helped me learn a lot about who these authors were. Learning about their lives and their past helped me understand how they like to think and why, which not only helped me read the book but also make connections from the book and their lives to my life. The book brings up a lot of complex topics, so Simon uses a lot of analogies and metaphors to “dumb it down” and help you understand. For my artifact I thought it would be a good idea to materialize one of these analogies, which they call “The Chessboard Analogy.” The purpose of the analogy is to help you understand that thoughts and feelings do not define who you are, and that what should define you is the actions you take to combat negative emotions. An example I used often was that an action to take against feeling insecure about your body is to work out or eat healthier. I created the artifact using a jigsaw with my dad to shape a wooden head, and then painting a chessboard on top of it. I then wrote in examples of things that would be part of someone’s chessboard, like past injuries or personal records. This was actually quite fun, as it was a way to create an artifact that I’ve never done before. I’ve done paper mache and digital but I’ve never used a saw, so it was nice to try something new and step out of my comfort zone. 

My presentation went pretty well as well. The research I’d done in the author bio paired with the fact that I could connect and apply the book to my life meant I had a very good understanding of the book. This understanding meant I was able to answer any questions people had about the book or my artifact, which enhanced my presentation. The only thing I would’ve done differently would be to make the artifact a little more interactive, especially with it being a chessboard. I had people try to play chess against me using the board, so if I could’ve had an interactive feature it would’ve added another level to my presentation. 

I really enjoyed this project. Normally, self help books are not the first book I take off the shelf but I learned a lot from The Brave Athlete. It was helpful that I was able to take what I learned from the book and directly apply it to my athletic life, especially with basketball season being a big part of my routine right now. The biggest thing I took away from this book was something they called mindfulness. Essentially, they define mindfulness as not letting your mind dwell on negative thoughts or feelings. You just keep your brain engaged so that it won’t hone in on the stabbing stitch in your right side as you run, or the fact that dozens of people are screaming at you as you shoot. I started to practice this when I shoot free throws in game. Last year I had a horrible free throw percentage, largely because I would get in my own head with thoughts like “your going to miss.” So for this year, I created a thinking routine for my free throws, almost like a distraction for my brain so it doesn’t focus on outside distractions or value of the shot. It’s boosted my free throw % up to over 85% this year, so this project couldn’t have come at a better time.