Nope, being an athlete is not my full time job.
Even when I wasn’t ‘working’ in terms of curating my career and being paid, even then, I still didn’t do athletics full time.
I’ve been a student-athlete.
I’ve been a working-athlete, i.e. 9-5er.
And I’ve been an athlete-preneur. (An athlete and an entrepreneur, in case that wasn’t clear ;)).
Athlete And
“Athlete and” is the name of the UK Sport and Lottery-funded British Athletics’ World Class Performance Programme’s (WCPP) off-shoot to support athlete’s holistic wellbeing and development and it makes sense – the name, I mean.
Because it reminds the athlete that we are athletes and something else.
What’s your ‘and’?
You may be a daughter and a mum and a lawyer and a volunteer and a carer.
I don’t know.
But my myriad roles look like – athlete and …
Well, let me remind you why the ‘and’ is so important first…
More Than An Athlete
I’m always keen to highlight that YES, I am ‘more than an athlete’.
I discuss this with Naomi Metzger (nee Ogbeta) on my Define Your Success Podcast, since she has multiple competencies, being both a multiple British Champion in Triple Jump and an NFT-creative.
Listen below on Spotify or search for the episode wherever you get your podcast!
We are all ‘more than‘!
We are multi-faceted, layered people.
However, I’m keen not to be an athlete and too many things. Because being ‘busy’ and juggling a million and one things is used to be an easy go-to for me. I have big goals and dreams and want to accomplish everything…yesterday! So my default is often to take on too much.
Most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a lifetime.
Anonymous, oft attributed to Bill Gates
This is a quote I often bring to mind to remind me to slow down and let go when I get caught in the tantalising trap of doing too much.
For this reason, in this season, I’m keen to apply the concept of stream-lining.
Streamlining Time
Streamlining my time looks like – being strategic with my time; being focused on the one thing that will bring the most value and create the most joy in my world and others’. (This book below by Gary Keller inspired me to think in this way years ago and I still love and strive to live by that philosophy!)
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
I do the streamlined, focused, strategic planning malarkey really well in my moniker of ‘athlete’.
So, I’m keen to do that with my ‘and…’ as well.
For now, I’m athlete and resilience coach and speaker. Get in touch to book me!
Simply put, I am an athlete and a resilience ‘expert’.
Broadly, I live, speak, I coach, I consult, I mentor people (individuals and groups) in all walks of life in the practice of resilience.
Who?
- young people in education lacking confidence or feeling like they’re just ‘bad’ at schooling;
- mums struggling with self-esteem issues;
- desk and corporate workers fighting a seemingly losing battle with their mental health and wellbeing – struggling to connect with friends and family or find the joy in hobbies and life because of an identity shift that they’re trying to figure out;
- Teams of high performers who have missed a goal or opportunity – equipping them with the language and tools to articulate the loss and strategies to move forward that they can retain for future use;
- Business leaders and solo entrepreneurs, start-ups who are facing obstacle after obstacle in their pursuit of business growth. Teaching them business resilience.
Even when I ran Manchester Tutors, I ensured my tutors learned and understood the concept of resilience and a growth mindset so they could share these integral principles with the students they tutored.
The philosophy was this: we develop a child’s competence [subject-focused, e.g. maths, science, etc.] and their confidence [person-focused, e.g. growth mindset, ‘I can and I will’ attitude].
Why me?
I’m a resilient athlete with a background in teaching and tutoring over the last fifteen years, leading, building, starting and growing a tuition agency – running a business and a team of employees and hundreds of contractors over the last five plus years – and then selling that business;
Although I haven’t used it formally, I still find value in having graduated with a Law degree from UCL in 2012. I have an analytical mind drawn to flaws to correct and challenge them – but also the empathy to know when to leave these flaws alone through the practise of self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
Finally, I am trained in NLP and CBT, initially for my personal and professional growth and desire to excel in athletics, but ultimately leading to helping many others through coaching and mentoring.
Ultimately, although athletics is not my full-time job, I’m thankful for the many many years of experience I have had competing at the highest levels in my sport. It’s given me a growth mindset that I’ve been able to use as a foundation for the peak performance strategies I use and implement in my speaking and coaching; whilst the challenges, lows and losses have also taught me so much and redirected me to dive deeper and grow in areas such as NLP; entrepreneurship, business and leadership; speaking; business coaching and more.
Thanks for asking this question on Insta!
Feel free to ask more and I’ll share answers when I can…
Blessings,
~ Abs x
