WOW!!! Episode 42 of The Junk You Should Know Show features special guest Canadian Olympian Sarah Wells. So first, how much of an impact can a teacher make? Just ask Sarah! She and her high school teacher/coach worked together to qualify for the Canadian hurdling team. Now, this was after she had already tried out for a number of other sports. Instead of giving up she kept getting back up to try something new.
How many times do we get rejected and just give up? Just imagine what could be right around the corner if we didn’t. Olympian Sarah Wells competed in the 2012 Olympics in London and currently training for the 2020 Olympics.
Adversity, Overcoming, and Giving Back with Olympian Sarah Wells
So what can we learn from Olympian Sarah Wells? Here are some of the biggest takeaways from this episode of The Junk You Should Know Show.
Every Choice Makes a Difference on Your Wellness (6:55)
For Sarah, whether she’s on the track or not every choice factors into her next training session. Whether it’s food or social choices, they all ultimately have an effect on her overall wellness.
When you truly step back and think about this, you’ll see that it doesn’t only apply to athletes. This applies to ALL OF US!
It’s about making choices, not sacrifices. – Canadian Olympian Sarah Wells
Adversity (10:20)
Besides the initial journey to discover her talent and training to make the national team, 1 year before the 2012 London Olympics, Sara suffered an injury. You can hear more about in the video itself, but can you imagine being right there, in hands reach of your goal. Then suddenly everything stops. She had to let her leg heal for 9 months, that meant no training. It also meant watching teammates getting stronger and faster without her. Ultimately, it meant the Olympics would be an “impossible” goal. BUT…
After her first day back at training, she wanted to truly remind herself that she would still reach her goal to be an Olympian no matter how improbable it may seem. (Check out mark 15:24 to see what she did to keep her goal in the forefront).
Now, that would be enough, wouldn’t it? Enough for some people to throw in the towel. But, she continued to train until a month later she suffered another devastating injury (16:01). After recovering it only left her 6 months to train for the Olympic trials.
Adversities…in spite of them, Sarah absolutely proved to herself and the world that she had the spirit to triumph. She won the Olympic trials that year to become a Canadian Olympian in the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Believe Initiative (17:48)
Partnering with Royal Bank, Sarah helps students through The Believe Initiative. They are able to go into schools and share the power of resilience and belief to challenge them to see what they are capable of when they have both.
Make sure to give this section a watch because it’s absolutely clear that she’s also found passion outside of hurdling.
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A special thank you to The Change Cave for sponsoring The Junk You Should Know Show! The Change Cave is a 12-Module online membership program that ignites passion and inspires first steps for women over forty ready to take their wellness to the next level.
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