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Got a minute?<\/p>\nGot a minute?<\/p>\n
Every Monday for the last two years, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate Hannah Huesman has distributed a one-minute motivational video via social media revolving around mental performance strategies such as breathing, mindfulness and imagery.<\/p>\n
Huesman, a mental skills coach for baseball\u2019s Philadelphia Phillies, has designed these weekly affirmations\u2014called #MentalSweatMonday\u2014”to serve as a reminder that, just like you\u2019re breaking a physical sweat every day, you ought to be breaking a mental sweat every day, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t have a clue the impact the 60-second nuggets would have.<\/p>\n
Huesman\u2019s #MentalSweatMonday segments have generated a sizable following on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, so much so that she was recently listed No. 2 on the LinkedIn News ranking of 2020\u2019s top voices in the sports industry. The platform used such data as engagement, posting cadence and follower growth when cultivating its list.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuesman\u2019s presence on LinkedIn is a sign of a trend in the sports world: the increased visibility of mental health coaches on team rosters,\u201d wrote Joseph Milord, a news editor at LinkedIn News. \u201cAt work, she serves in that role for the Phillies\u2019 baseball players. On LinkedIn, through her #MentalSweatMonday videos, she serves followers with reminders to maintain motivation, even when the immediate rewards are intangible, and implores them to look at problems through the right lenses, among other edifying messages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huesman said being listed as one of LinkedIn\u2019s top social media influencers was humbling \u201cbecause with social media nowadays, you can put out great content, but if nobody likes it and nobody shares it and no one\u2019s commenting on it, a lot of people aren\u2019t going to see it. My gratitude goes straight towards any listener or viewer who\u2019s ever watched it because the more they watch it, the more they share it and comment and like it, the more exposure it gets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started doing these, I really went into it not having a ton of expectations for what #MentalSweatMonday was going to do or even what it could be like. Sometimes doubt crept in, like \u2018Is this worth it? Are people actually listening?\u2019 Every time I felt that doubt kind of creep in, somebody messaged me and said, \u2018You have no idea the impact you\u2019re making,\u2019 or \u2018Thank you so much for the weekly affirmations and motivation to keep going.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Huesman, a former two-sport athlete in basketball and softball who received a bachelor\u2019s degree in kinesiology and exercise science from UTC in 2014, said the most fun is seeing the different types of people who regularly respond to her videos.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just athletes. It\u2019s parents. It\u2019s social workers. It\u2019s firefighters. It\u2019s artists. It\u2019s actors. It\u2019s cool to see the impact it\u2019s making, and it keeps me doing what I\u2019m doing,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople look forward to Mondays now, which was part of the whole goal of these videos. To help people set the tone for their week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The #MentalSweatMonday videos\u2014which, truth be told, take Huesman several hours to brainstorm, write, edit and record\u2014routinely get thousands of views, shares and re-tweets. The catchy name came out of a conversation she was having with her husband, Jacob, a former all-America quarterback at UTC and the Mocs\u2019 current tight ends coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cJacob helped me come up with the name \u2018mental sweat\u2019 because I wanted it to resonate in people\u2019s minds,\u201d she said. \u201cJust like you have to break a physical sweat every day, you should be breaking a mental sweat, too, whether that\u2019s checking in on how you\u2019re doing or doing an actual mental performance strategy, technique or skill.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her position with the Phillies, Huesman travels with the organization\u2014at least in non-pandemic years\u2014spending around 27 days on the road each month. Even during COVID-19, she finds herself constantly on Zoom or her phone talking with players and staff members.<\/p>\n
Like everyone else, she is looking forward to turning the calendar and saying \u2018Goodbye\u2019 to 2020. A new year brings about new hope\u2014and new weekly videos, of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the word for 2021 has to be some combination of \u2018perspective\u2019 and \u2018gratitude,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cJacob and I were talking the other day about how much we have to be grateful for, and I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t think we pay attention to that enough.\u2019 We have a home. We have each other. We have a dog. We have jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust remembering that perspective is huge. So I\u2019m sure the themes of #MentalSweatMonday will continue to come out of that, reminding people to have that perspective. It\u2019s so easy just to go back to the everyday jobs and groan and complain about everything. A little perspective may go a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n
And her social media influencer plans for 2021?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to give away too much because it\u2019s kind of a surprise,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cBut there are some cool things to come. So stay tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Got a minute? Every Monday for the last two years, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate Hannah Huesman has distributed a one-minute motivational video via social media revolving around mental performance strategies such as breathing, mindfulness and imagery. Huesman, a mental skills coach for baseball\u2019s Philadelphia Phillies, has designed these weekly affirmations\u2014called #MentalSweatMonday\u2014”to serve as… <\/p>\n