Chrissie Wellington – Be Kind To Yourself

Chrissie was doing another talk yesterday and a lot of my friends were attending so I decided I hadn’t heard enough of her. The questions and answers were pretty much the same I heard the day before at the Harvard Club only in this occasion there was more time to go into the answers. I wanted to share some things she said, as I thought there were a key to how she does what she does, and you would enjoy them!

You have to find your passion. This is key, but do we all do it? When she had to decide between keeping her career in international development, which she loved, and being a pro triathlete, that was how she figured out which way to go. Find your passion. Think about it. Today.
Best advice you ever got? Be Kind to Yourself. As athlete we sometimes focus and worry about the things we didn’t do during training, about how far we are from our goals, about how so many others might be stronger/faster/etc. Focus on what you did do, on what you do have, be nice to yourself.
It’s gonna hurt. Really hurt. Don’t fear it, embrace it.
Enjoy it. If you are not going to enjoy it, then why do it? (Really, why!??!)
What does she think about when she’s in a race and the pain takes over? When she starts getting tired, down and all that fun stuff, she looks back to other races where she did well, workouts she completed she didn’t think she could do, things she achieved that seemed unobtainable and they give her confidence. We all have our fears and insecurities, but we have to find ways to push through them.
Above all, ignore what you think are your limits. Your limits are not where you think they are. You really don’t know where they are until you go for it.