The British Adult Figure Skating Championships!

Tucking the final strands of hair into my bun, I stared back at myself in the mirror thinking,

“I can’t believe you voluntarily paid eighty pounds to feel this nervous”

It was my first time competing at the British Adult Figure Skating Championships. Every year I set an audacious goal for myself. Something that requires a long term commitment. Something that scares me. In 2022, it was competing in Dancing on Ice. Last year, it was to run a sub 20 minute 5km. This year, it was to compete at nationals in the Women’s Free Skate.

As a keynote speaker, I talk a lot about the adaptive mindset and about stepping out of your comfort zone. Mindsets are like muscles. You can’t think your way to strong muscles. You have to take action.

In the same way, you have to keep re-learning the process of learning. I work hard to keep this habit in my life because if I don’t, the default is to snuggle into my comfort zone under a warm blanket. And while is perfectly fine to spend some time there - we all need time to consolidate and recharge - staying there for too long makes it harder for me to say yes to new things in the future. I’ve gotten a little too cozy and a little too comfortable.

If you want to climb a new mountain, you have to come down from your current peak and start at the bottom. I want to always be the kind of person who freely exercises her right to be a beginner.

If I had stopped at the first sign of nerves, I never would have discovered that I would be fine as soon as I got on the ice, or been reminded that hard things can be fun, or that I had a silver medal in me!

What audacious goal is on the cards for you this year?!