This badge is from when I competed at the Taekwondo World Championships. I love this badge it reminds me, that I’m a fighter, I’m strong and that I help others to navigate the ups and downs in life; which is an amazing feeling.
I was competing on the biggest stage I had ever been on going for a medal in destruction; which basically means hitting a breaking board hard as you can.
If you can break more boards than anyone else you win. So I sit and watch the other competitors go up, they all fail to make a “break”. It’s my turn my heart is pounding, I see the boards and visualise and feel my foot smashing through them even before my foot hits them… this was many years ago and it’s now visualisation a 🧠 tool we teach kids and grown-ups too, setting themselves up for success.
✨Everything felt right, I went for the break and my foot went through the 5 boards like a dream. I was buzzing, I bow before getting back into my position, which I should be done in reverse order. I sit down stunned I’m world champion.
Then I see someone complain to the judge that I didn’t go back into my guarding block (position) fast enough. The complaint is upheld and in a flash my gold medal is taken away, I am disqualified. It took me a long time and many tears to get over it, but it also made me even more determined. I returned to the European championships in Germany and won gold 🥇. I’m still sore about that World Championships but I know inside I was world champion for a moment.
Sport isn’t just about the wins, it’s the losses the stories and how we get back up dust ourselves off and keep going. Having a growth mindset massively helps with that and these experiences help me to be better coach.
All our Happy Confident Kids Sports Coaches have their own unique stories and life experiences to tell, we love helping them to challenge their thinking and improve the way they communicate and encourage kids in sports. What’s helped you have a growth mindset?
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