029: Dealing With Pressure w/ Lucy Campbell

Maybe the pressure is what drives you forward. Unerringly. Ceaselessly, toward your best. Could you have done what you have done without that pressure; forcing you, pushing you?

But you recognise the times that the pressure has got too much. When will I snatch Xkg? When will I reach the semis? When will I be good enough?

Pressure creates diamonds, they say.

But pressure has also been your downfall.

The pressure certainly wasn’t creating diamonds when I didn’t sleep for three days straight, not because I was busy, but because I couldn’t.

It wasn’t good for me when, at 3am, I was a nervous ball of energy, unable to get a break from the constant criticism & judgment in my head, and unable to get more than 5 minutes of sleep.

The pressure was making life miserable.

And I know it makes the life of so many athletes miserable too. Maybe that’s you.

Maybe the pressure and the force and the stress you’re putting yourself under is not needed in order to be successful.

Maybe you could do all of this without the pressure.

Maybe the pressure has become something you’ve grown attached to, because who would you be without it? What if you weren’t good enough without the pressure?

I’m asking you honestly now, are you attached to the pressure?

The very same pressure that is a stone in your shoe every time you workout or compete.

What would happen if you dropped this pressure? Sure, you’ve proven to yourself that you can run a mile with a stone in your shoe. You could probably run a mile without that stone too.

Think back to your best performances - in training or elsewhere. What did they feel like? Did they feel forced and stressed and full of pressure? Or did they feel open, free and effortless despite their difficulty?

No one is asking you to shy away from difficult things, or to quit holding yourself to a high standard. Quite the opposite. I’m saying free up the space to perform your best by dropping the energy you’re currently devoting to fighting this self-imposed pressure.

The podcast you’re about to listen to with CrossFit athlete Lucy Campbell goes into this subject of pressure. She speaks candidly about pressure to perform and to conform & how that affects our identity. Her background in sports psychology which makes for a really informative opinion.

We also discuss body image, the role of identity, overthinking, comparison and dealing with injury.

If you enjoy the show, please head to Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube and subscribe.