23/06/2026
A week ago I found myself trialling for the Olympic bobsleigh & skeleton teamš«Ŗ
Even writing that still feels a little surreal.
Iāve had some time to reflect on the experience whilst being away this week, and one thing keeps coming back to meā¦
How easy it would have been not to go.
Not because I didnāt want to (itās literally a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of athletes!)
But because I didnāt feel āreadyāš«
I hadnāt specifically trained for the tests.
I knew the standard would be incredibly high.
And I knew there would be people there with far more experience than me.
In situations like that, itās very easy to convince yourself that youāll wait until youāre ābetter preparedā.
Wait until youāre more confident.
Or even wait until you feel like you ābelongā.
But the older I get, the more I realise that some of the best experiences in life happen before you feel ready for them.
Had I said no, nothing bad would have happened.
Life would have carried on exactly as normal.
But I would have missed out on an opportunity to challenge myself, learn something new, meet some incredible people, and find out what I was capable of.
And I think thatās something many of us do more often than weād like to admit.
We talk ourselves out of opportunities before theyāve even had the chance to become something.
Usually because weāre scared we might fail?
Whether thatās applying for a job, entering a race, joining a gym, starting a business, or simply putting yourself in a room where youāre not the most experienced person there.
Looking back, the biggest lesson from the day wasnāt anything to do with bobsleigh.
It was a reminder that confidence isnāt usually what comes first.
More often than not, confidence is something that gets built afterwardsā¦As a result of having the courage to show up in the first place.
So if thereās something youāve been putting off because you donāt feel quite readyā¦
Maybe thatās exactly why you should do it.
You never know where one uncomfortable decision might leadšŖ