Athletes, like everyone worry constantly about the “what ifs.” As in, what if I get injured? What if my race is canceled? What if the weather is horrible? The challenge is to realize we have one job: prepare as best we can for events and realize we can only control the “controllables.” We can’t control injuries, BUT we can strength train to help avoid them. We can’t control race cancellations, but we can create alternative ways to test our abilities. We can’t control the weather but we can train in all types of weather so we are prepared for whatever happens. In short, we can build skills to know that whatever happens, it will be OKAY. That is the heart of optimism: knowing that most things (nearly all) work out okay for ourselves and others.