"Shawnee, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not getting great results. I feel unmotivated and I've lost my spark. Can't wait for the season to be over."
That's how my conversation began with Ale (Alexandria) Loutitt, Team Canada Ski Jumping. Let me give you some background. Ale is having a golden year. World Junior Champion, World Cup Winner (Canada's first), and to top if off, she is also the World Champion (Canada's first). First female from any country to win the World Junior and World Senior titles in the same year. Incredible! And did I mention she's only 19 years old?! So what's going on? She's having the season of her life, yet she can't wait for it be over.
It's called the Weight of Gold.
When you're at the top, there's no place to go but down. Your competitors are chomping at your heels. Your sponsors want more of your time. Your coaches are pushing you harder. You're pushing yourself harder.
The Weight of Gold is heavy.
Back to my conversation with Ale: "It's been a long season. You are burned out, you have aches and pains, rest and recovery is lacking. You're physically and emotionally drained. It makes complete sense that you're lacking motivation and your spark is dim. Hard to pour from an empty cup."
"There may only be 2 drops left in that cup. Do the best you can with those two drops."
The next day she finished first in qualifying. The day after she was on the podium with a silver medal. Then she set a World Record, jumping further than any woman, ever!
How is that possible with only 2 drops left?! I asked her, "What changed after our conversation?"
Her response, "I did not think about jumping the whole day, napped, hung out with my boyfriend and my Roomie, then when it was time to jump, I just jumped." She also decided to skip training that morning.
Rest and recovery, no matter how small, can often add 1 more drop to the cup.
After she set the World Record, she messaged me, "This is what I f-cking do with two drops left! I thought about our conversation, I knew that there was nothing wrong and what I was feeling was normal. I was able to accept that I’m tired and grinding through the end of my season. But even though there’s not a lot left I don’t want to leave anything on the table."
Mental Toughness at it's finest. How is your child, your athlete, handling an empty cup? I can help. Book a free, no pressure call here.
