Have you ever said THIS….

Ok! Here we go. Be honest…as a rider have you ever said:

I can’t do this. I just can’t do this.

OR:

WHY do I keep putting myself into these situations where I’m under so much stress?

OR:

There’s no point in trying to – move up to a higher level ‘cause I can never beat (—insert name of better known rider, or professional rider or team or Nation).

Here are my honest answers:

Number 1?  I’ve said that so often my husband David kids me about it.

Number 2?  While driving to a show I see other people in their back yards doing normal weekend things and ask myself why am I putting myself under this stress?

Number 3?  Yes I’ve said this one too. Here’s my version.  There’s no point in me trying to move up to a CDI Amateur Division. I’m too old. The other competitors  will be 30 or 40  years younger than me.

Now, here’s the thing. I didn’t make up these three quotes. All three were quotes I heard during Rio 2016. YES! Here are the people who said them.

1. This was Gold Medalist , wrestler Erika Weibe, in an interview with the CBC. She said that she had not even made the team for the Pan Am Games in 2015. Then she said: “In July (2016) I just kept saying, I can’t do this. I just can’t do this!”  This from the person who then went on and won the Gold Medal!

   

2. Bronze medalist in Decathlon Damien Warner said in an interview the day after he won the Bronze that during the second day of Decathlon, he really began to feel the pressure of this very demanding event. He said: “Why do I keep putting myself into these situations where I’m under so much stress?” Then he went on to win the Bronze!

   

3. During the men’s marathon on the last day of the Olympics in Rio, analyst and commentator David Moorcroft , a three time Olympian for Great Britain as a distance runner said: “ People say: ‘there’s no point in trying to move up to the marathon because I can never beat the Kenyans’.” He was addressing the reluctance of many distance runners to move up to running a marathon in competition.

   

Olympians have all said these things. They  come under the same pressure all of us do. They have the same self doubts all of us do.  How about you? Have you said any of these things ?  Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you.