Curvy Wars

By Nylah Watkins

Curvy Wars is a training plan to help motivate me to wear my back brace for the hours required. I wear a brace for scoliosis and have been for four years.

Goals and Foes                    

Ultimate Goal: 
To wear my brace for 18 hours! 

Opponents: 
Pain, (ah!)						
Rising body heat (hot, hot, hot!)
Welts(ouch!)
Constricted movements (wheeze!)                                                                                      

Relentless Foes: 
Fatigue 
Soreness 
Procrastination 


Pep Talks 

In the face of doubt… 
I will remind myself of all the good that will come out of wearing the brace. I always see the progress of how my body looks after wearing it. The results are great, the more I wear it, the more it tames the curvy nature of my spine and I'll use that to push myself. 

When I achieve my goal… 
I’ll celebrate by making my favorite food! Or reading a good book/ watching a show!

In the face of setbacks…
I won’t try to dwell on it too much, and will try not to think of how my loss of hours could affect me. I’ll just put the brace on again. 

If I don’t achieve my goal..?
I will try again the next day!

Process

The “Think like an Elite Athlete” workshop inspired me to create my training plan. We learned tips and tricks to think and train like elite athletes in the workshop and applied them to our own lives. One of the biggest struggles is my scoliosis, and my life tends to revolve around it. My routine in school, my wardrobe, the amount of time I can dance, you name it. It can get very emotionally and physically exhausting to wear it even though it is necessary. This plan will be a reference in the future and help me out if I ever need to get back on track.