Last weekend I sat down with former team GB athlete Nathan Togun, for the 2nd episode of the Being Human podcast. We did a deep dive into his journey to becoming an elite sprinter and member of the GB bobsleigh team. He touched upon the following piece of advice more than once throughout our conversation, and when I asked him as a final question, what the biggest lesson he took away from his journey was, he reiterated it.
Nathan advised: take the risk, and stop caring about what other people think. He opened up about the fact that he had underperformed at multiple points throughout his career, because he was too caught up in caring about what other people would say or think about him if he lost. He acknowledged that this had held him back from performing to his full potential in moments when it mattered. Despite that however, you could tell he appreciates it was a lesson he had to learn, and is something he does a much better job of living by today.
I thought this was a great piece of advice. Whether we like to admit it, or even realise it, we can all get caught up in letting what other people say and think, affect our actions and performances in life. Nathan wisely pointed out that the people who truly care about you and love you, will be there for you regardless of who you are and whether you win or lose. So everyone else is irrelevant.
This was just one gem of many that Nathan shared throughout our conversation. He not only provided advice on performance mindset, but also lots of advice on injury rehab and how to get opportunities as an up and coming athlete- amongst other things.
To listen to the full conversation hit the links below:
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Take the risk, stop caring what they think or say, and have a blessed day.