About

What is Believe I Am?

Believe I Am is a collection of transformative designs and apparel that share sports psychology techniques used by pro athletes to help aspirational women succeed in life and in sport by developing positive beliefs about themselves. Everything we make is designed around the use of "visual cues," eye-catching statements used by pro athletes all over the world to maximize performance and enjoyment by keeping them in a particular, desired state of mind. When you use visual cues, they help you form positive beliefs about yourself, and positive self beliefs make you brave enough to set goals, dedicated enough to put the work in, focused enough to make good life choices that support your goals, and confident enough to give your all without fear of failure.

These techniques are particularly powerful when combined with apparel. Clothing has enormous power over how we feel and act. Put a kid in a superhero costume and he starts running around like Superman. Wear sweats and you feel lazy, but once you put on your little black dress, you transform into someone who is ready for a night out! Putting visual cues on clothing has enormous power, but we didn't want to put "I Am Awesome" on our chests in big bold type because that's not our style. The message is for the wearer, not the outside world, so our visual cues are words transformed artistically into beautiful, fun, cryptic designs by women who really use them. At first glance, each design appears to be a flower or shape to an outsider, but when you look closely it contains a word or statement. You see the word, you wear the word, you feel the word, and over time you become the word.

Is it Legit? How Did it Start?

USA Champion Lauren Fleshman and Irish Olympian Ro McGettigan (that's us!) became friends in 2003 when we were Rookies on the international Pro Track and Field Circuit. Lauren loved Ro's spirit (and her Irish accent) and Ro thought Lauren was a fireball of energy. Our special connection had no competitiveness, but rather a desire to simply be buds and help one another improve. Every summer during track racing season, we would meet up at exotic and not so exotic places around the globe and share our tricks, secrets and struggles. We basically watched one another screw up and grow up. :)

A couple years ago, we made an important discovery that made the biggest difference of all in our success and enjoyment of running: the connection between mind and body. It changed everything for us, and in 2010 when we got a chance to reflect on it all, we thought about all the women who would benefit from these tools that we were lucky enough to be exposed to as Pros. Basically, once we realized how big of a difference it made to both of us, we simply had to find a way to share what we learned with all our sisters in sport. Believe I Am was born.

You can read more about Lauren and Ro here. We personally create every design based on our experience of what works and what we like. We do the writing, illustrating, and publishing of our very popular Training Journal which is the product we recommend to everyone. Myles Dumas is our talented photographer, accomplished graphic designer, and the third member of our team at Believe I Am. Everything you see comes from us, and from the feedback and experiences of our friends and sisters in sport.

So How Does Believe I Am Work?

In order to accomplish a goal, you have to learn to keep your focus where you need it most: on positive, empowering things. Visual cues help direct your focus and create positive beliefs about yourself. Many people (maybe you) think that belief in yourself is something you are born with. That is not true. Belief is not a given. Belief is practiced. Belief is earned. 

Your mind is like a garden with limited space. It is full of beliefs about yourself in the shape of both flowers (positive) and weeds (negative) competing for water and light and space. If you just leave it to nature, weeds can take over. That garden is the mind that you go out into the world with, set your goals with, and use to either give up or persevere. What does your garden need to look like to achieve your goals?

With Believe I Am, you learn to become a better Gardener! You learn to pull the weeds, plant the right flowers, and tend and nurture the garden so you can bring your best "you" to any task.

When you create positive beliefs about yourself, you turn yourself from Clark Kent into Superman. The Super-You that can accomplish your goal is hiding inside there somewhere already, waiting for you to let her out. Here is the basic breakdown of how to change your beliefs about yourself.

1. First you figure out what you want to achieve (qualify for State, complete a 10k, get a Boston Qualifier, get in shape). 
2. Second you determine what qualities are needed in order to achieve that goal (Strength, Relaxation, Enjoyment of the Process).
3. Then you get to work uncovering and embodying those qualities until you believe them, and eventually become them.
   

Believe I Am is a collection of proven tools and techniques that help you do just that, created by pro runners based on their experiences as women and as athletes. We can't wait for you to join us and share your experiences.

Can I Really Change My Belief in Myself?

YES! It just takes practice! You fake it til you make it.

See it, Wear it, Be it, Share it!