[CURIOUS] DO IT ANYWAY

“You can’t be demanding. You can’t be relentless. You can’t put yourself first. So, put yourself first”

Can’t win, So win, is Nike’s new advert. It’s a classical, powerful, interrupting message that fits all walks of life and boils down to the simple stance, do it anyway. Who cares about what other people think about what you’re doing? Will it change the outcome if people are genuinely interested in what you want? No. It matters what you want. Sha’Carri Richardson and Jordan Chiles are the ‘it girls’ of resilience and perseverance and embody the message do it anyway. In Olympic sailing, if you stack the pros and cons of campaigning, the same of all elite sport, the positives are often fewer (objectively) but in my eyes, they are more powerful. They hold greater weight because it’s worth it. Elite sport has become, has always been about defying the odds and now more than ever as the global nature of sports has skyrocketed, opinions are an inherent part of the narrative. And whilst it changes and challenges the conversations around who should be in which space, it shouldn’t change you.

In the words of Nike, there’s one guarantee in sport. You’ll be told you can’t do it. And its true. Unfortunately, many of us, especially the girls, have been told to stop, laughed at for choosing to pick sports or quite frankly ignored in places we are the most knowledgeable. But that’s where you have to do it anyway. The inspirational quotes are true, they hold substance. Nobody sees how you got here; nobody knows what it takes, they only see the final glory. The common factor in that? Nobody. Because nobody else gets to choose what you want.

I’ve learnt that you have to be in your own corner, you have to push for what you want and work harder, not to prove them wrong but to prove yourself right. You have to give yourself the opportunity to achieve your dreams. Each time the doubts surface, listen to that little voice in your head telling you the whole reason this started – because you wanted to. If we listen to the little voice, it becomes our choice again, and we can do it anyway. Do it scared, do it unsure but do it properly.

'Do it anyway' has its roots in Mother Theresa, whose work reflects truth to her values. An adaption of Dr. M. Keith’s paradoxical commandments into a poem of her own, culminates poignantly “give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you’ve got anyway”.

As a female in elite sport its message holds no less purpose, persevere regardless if the world rewards us for it. Do it with grace, do it with resilience but do it anyway. It is a personal disservice to fold to the people who tell us no. The full circle of contemporary discourse echoing such profound and such self-focused messaging as this is striking. To do what you want, what you dream of is not selfish. It is what is required to reach greatness. And we must continue, for this conversation cannot keep returning.