Everyone has somewhere to be nowadays. We focus so hard on what we want, where we want to be, what we want to look like…
That end moment can be so final. Yet it can also be short lived. We reach said point and then move onto the next ‘big’ thing. Maybe pausing to take in our achievements. But we never give ourselves enough credit for the journey - yet the journey accounts for 99% of the time.
So my message to everyone (including myself) is to enjoy the process. Stop frequently. And soak up the moment.
Looking back on my athletic highlights and having to pick out three journeys that were really significant to myself, I chose not the ones that always ended in a win, but the ones where I can look back and remember the process I went through to get there.
One, was my first medal at the National Championships at Crystal Palace. This was my first year competing at this level. I remember very little of the fights, only the amount of personal growth I had to do to get there. I was a shy youth and had to battle many demons along the way just to be in the arena. I won bronze that day.
My next was the time I won gold at the National Junior Championships... But it’s not the medal that highlights this journey - this year I remembered the fights. And this is why it’s one of my fond memories. Leading up to the competition I trained hard, everything was orientated around that competition, and that day everything flowed. I won every fight by Ippon (knockout), and it felt easy. My mental game was strong, I was fit, no injuries, my nutrition was on point and I was on fire.
My final memory ended in representing Great Britain at the Youth Olympics. The actual competition didn't go too well for me though...
Due to the structure of the North West squad, I ended up having to fight a weight up at the National Championships. But I won gold that year, and then that win combined with a succession of solid performances qualified my place on the team for the Youth Olympics.
I remember weigh-in day in Spain - I stood on the scales at 64kg having had to drink a litre of water to meet the requirement of weighing 1kg above the lower weight class. But I was fighting -70kgs. My first fight was against a Belarussian girl at the top of the weight category. I lost on a knockout and that was the end of my competition. I was heartbroken to spend all year working towards a moment that lasted less than a minute.
But now, this is one of my fondest memories. See, I earnt that place on the squad. I made sacrifices to be able to be there. I missed school, family events, time with friends. I attended training camps all over Europe and got to meet some amazing people along the way. I pushed my personal growth forwards in leaps and bounds, I realised being uncomfortable was a good thing, and that if I gave 100% I was capable of achieving anything.
𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭?
𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞.
𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐎𝐊… 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞.
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