30 - North Shore News - Friday, April 7, 2000 Improve your seif-confidence and results SELF-CONFIDENCE is really a state of mind. It’s a feeling that “I can perform well, and today I will!” Note that the emphasis of confidence-building is an atti- tude of performing toward the upper range of one’s ability. Building confidence “thar I will win.” Regardless of your level of physical skill of talent, if your self-confidence is low, then your performance potential Helen will be severely limited. Kelesi Anything that you can do to raise your confidence level will lead to immediate posi- tive consequences in your performance whether you are at work or at play. Motivational levels, energy and your ability to handle pressure affects the ability to concentrate. Having self-confidence requires you to be mentally strong and tough, since you must remain positive and deflect negative emotions. The impor- tance of a positive mental attitude is no myth. You must come to understand that your attitudes serve to free your talent and skill, or serve to entrap it. Nothing helps your self-image and confidence more than a positive and enthusiastic attitude and nothing undermines it more than a negative, pessimistic one. What we think shapes our attitudes. Our attitudes shape what we see, how we feel, and ultimately how we will live our lives. It’s time to be kind to yourself. As a professional athlete who played on the women’s pro- fessional tennis tour, I dealt with my self worth and confi- dence on a daily basis and tried many things to cormbat the negative energy produced by winning, losing, weight gain and/or personal issucs. What I learned was that I couldn’t expect myself to be perfect. So I stopped worrying what other people thought and started living my own life. I took time to notice the good things I accomplished on a daily basis and was proud of myself. But this didn’t just happen overnight, it took time te train these feelings. Mental discipline and toughness are iearned not born, I’m afraid. ‘ Here are some strategies that worked for me: 1. Improve your physical strength and endurance levels. Get on a consistent program. Self-confidence will rise automat- ically when you improve your fitness. . 2. Give yourself lee way for any urges you may desire (cake, if fat loss is your goal). Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up about it because tomorrow is another day. 3. Increase your self-discipline in what you think about your failures and mistakes. . ; Self-discipline provides additional evidence that you are in con- trol of You! : 4, Have a plan where you set realistic and achievable goals. . , Create an image of yourself that you want to be in your mind. See it! Feel it! Only then can you be it! . Remember. Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with the right decision: Pll try! . : . Helen Kelesi’s column appears here on Fridays. E-mail her at chkelesi@bome.com>. . / Training Camp WEEKEND WEATHER Today: high 13, mix of sun and cloud; 30% probability of precipitation Saturday: tow 6 high 13 to 17, sunny with cloudy periods; p.o.p. n/a Sunday: tow 6, high 14 to 18, sunny with cloudy periods; p.o.p. n/a As of 18 a.m, Thurs. {Uodates 664-9070) LOCAL MOUNTAINS Cypress Bowl: 286 cm base Grouse Mountain: 430 cm average Mount Seymour: 390 cm base TIDES AT PT. ATKINSON Today - 2.5 m low @ 00:55 4.4 mhigh @ 06:35 1.0 sn fow @ 13:25 4.3 m high @ 20:10 Saturday 2.8 m iow @ 61:40 43 m high @ 07:10 0.9 m low @ 14:10 44m high @ 21:15 Sunday , 3.0 m low @ 02:40 42 m high @ 07:50 0.9 m tow @ 15:00 4.4m high @ 22:25 SUNFISE/SUNSET Today: 05:36/18:54 Saturday: 05:34/18:55 Sunday: 05:32/18:57 MOON PHASES 1st 1/4: Tuesday; full: April 18: tast 1/4: April 26; new: May 4 NEWS photo Mike Wakafieid LOS Angeles Lakers basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal may make the Edgewater In Dundarave his off-season home. Shaaq’s shack? West Van popular with NBA piayers HE’s a rapper, a movie star and the favourite to win the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player award. He’s Shaquille O’Neal and you might see him shooting hoops in Dundarave this summer. | The 28-year-old, seven- foot-one Los Angeles Lakers’ star forward toured the Edgewater, a new luxury high rise at 2288 Believue Ave., when his team was in Vancouver last week to play the Grizzlies. The 15-storey tower has 1] single-floor suites of 297 square-metres (3,300 square feet) each. All have stunning panoramic views of the Lower Mainland and cost more than $2-million each. Emily Griffiths, widow of late broadcasting magnate Frank Griffiths, lives in the $4-mitlion, two-storey pent- house, according to a real estate agent who declined to be named. “It’s the best building in the whole of the Lower Mainland in terms of quali- ty,” said the agent. “It’s out- standing.” ‘ If O'Neal does make it his off-season home, it only affirms that West Vancouver is a popular haven for NBA types. Vancouver Grizzlies’ gen- eral manager Stu Jackson lives in Dundarave. Michael Jordan and his family spent the summer of 1998 in a rented waterfront mansion. Houston Rockets’ star Hakeem Olajuwon _: has friends in West Vancouver and has been spotted playing tennis at Hollyburn Country Club during off-seasons wi focal businessmen and a Supreme Court judge. Vancouver's abundance of film, TV and music studios could keep O'Neal busy in the off-season, He has had roles in nine films and was executive pro- ducer of two. He also released five rap albums. — Bob Mackin ables SPORTING LIFE Q: How should I breathe when I am working-out with A: Breathing is an important part of your workout as it is important to supply your muscles with oxygen. Strengthening exer- - cises have a concentric con- traction (shortening) and an eccentric concraction , (lengthening). For example, when performing barbell curls, the concentric con- traction is when you are curling the barbell up to your chest and the eccentric contraction is when you lower the barbell down. When exercising with weights, try breathing out on the concentric part of the movement. If this is toc confusing then simply breathe out on the exertion ox the most difficult part of the movement. The most important thing to remember when =~ breathing and weight train- ing is to breathe consistent- < ly. Do not hold your breath while performing strength- ening exercises as it is nec-« essary for your muscles to be provided with oxygen. If you hold your breath you will get dizzy and your ; strength will be greatly lim- «- ited. a Personal trainer Shaun Karp owns Karp Personal: Training. Co and Rehabilstation. Visit his Web. site: www.karpfitness.com = °° attracted to your signals. For more information, go to . Dining Tables - Coffee Tables Hall Tables End Tables from: $36") fog 44 Resna SUAS Pn RA we a Eat. “DESTINATION SKI “1859 Marine Erive-North Vancoilves hocmunasarscnsceseusrse SBSRTAIESSEY Re vs ak