Fear is part of sport

I had an epiphany yesterday while out on a mountain bike ride. Mountain biking was my first experience competing as a cyclist, but I went away from it while racing as a professional on the road. (I didn’t want to call up the director to say I couldn’t race after falling while riding off-road.) Now that I have stopped racing, mountain biking has become something that I very much enjoy. Yesterday, I realized why I enjoy it so much—fear. Mountain biking pushes the limits of what I am comfortable with and that is an exciting feeling—a challenge to be overcome on each ride.

Recently I have been working with some athletes who have expressed their fear at some aspect of riding, for instance descending or of how they will perform at an event. Being out on the mountain bike and feeling the same way made me realize that fear, in one form or another, is a major part of being an athlete. As athletes, we are always pushing ourselves to do more. As such, failure is a certainty. If things were easy, we likely would not push ourselves to improve.

Facing our uncertainties and seeing those hurdles overcome is the satisfying part of pushing oneself. In life, fear is all around us but in sport it is an integral part of what we are doing. Unavoidable. We push our limits emotionally and physically. For many athletes I would suggest that an understanding of that reality is an important part of embracing the next step in their development. Face your fear, overcome it, and move on to the next challenge!