A letter to the girl who wants it all..

We all know them.

The girl(s) on the team who are constantly pushing. Pushing themselves and the rest of their teammates to be better.

The one’s who take pride in their fatigue, and yet never appear to be out of energy.

The one’s who manage it all, under pressure, and make it look seamless.

They may be a friend, a sister, a mother, a colleague, a teammate.

We all know them.

We may be one ourselves.

Some may think that they make everything look easy because “everything just comes easily for them”. Others may say they’ve never had hardships.

They know those are false accusations. But will likely still take them to heart.

I’d like to send a message to all those achievers.. one I wish I had listened to years ago.

There will come a day where you learn the hard way what it means to take on too much.

There may come a few of those days, because you’re too stubborn to relent.

There will come days where you get so frustrated by people in your life, because they don’t seem to hold themselves to the same standard you hold yourself. You will one day learn that their journey is theirs, and not yours to pass judgement on.. although that may not make the frustration any less.

As athletes you’ll never want to quit, and the fear of letting go of certain things will hold you stuck.. frozen.. in a place where everything seems upside down. It may be injury related. And if it is, the pain may become a being of it’s own. When this happens- you’ll be forced to learn that emotions tie into injuries, just as injuries tie into our emotions. Sometimes in order to fix one, you have to evaluate the other.

You’ll learn to listen to your gut intuition.. and eventually it will be your ultimate guide.

There will come a day where you’ll be confronted with someone you love deeply and/or look up to making a comment that seems like judgement on your abilities or efforts. You will have to reassess the toughness of your skin and move on. You cannot expect others to always understand your view-point.

If you are injured, understand that rehab is not a set in stone time-frame. An injury can be expected to heal in weeks.. but take months or years to not affect you. Sometimes you’ll have to let go of others comments during this time, again, as nobody knows you better then you.

You will face the age old “s**t, I’m not invincible after all” realisation probably sooner then you think, and self-care will become your new bible.  You’ll look at younger versions of you and want to tell them that everything thing they are doing is all worth it- but in the same breath you’ll want to tell them to eat better, move better, and maybe even hang out with better people.

Your goals will change and grow at the same rate you do, and the things you dreamed of once will morph into new aspirations.. maybe quicker then you can even expect.

Your best laid plans will fall through, this is almost a rule of the universe, and yet something equivalent or even better will always come about.. usually in the last minute and when you’re least expecting it.

The biggest lesson you’ll have to face through all of this is understanding how to understand yourself, and show compassion for what you find. This lesson will show itself in different masks day to day,  and won’t ever stop asking questions.

You’ll realize the benefit of being proactive, instead of reactive.. and your reactions will mature the more you are open and honest with your own emotions. Within this you’ll realize you CAN have it all.. it just will never stop challenging you to grow or be easy.

No matter what path you’re taking in life, athletics, professional, parenthood, or just whatever the day brings- never stop caring for you.. and in that lies your ability to care for others. It will also attract like-minded, positive influences to your life.. and for that you will be forever grateful.

Ladies out there, move well, live well and be well. This is my message to you on International Women’s Day!