BECOMING A CHAMPION: RELEASE YOURSELF! by RYAN JAHNKE I can remember many times
when I felt ready to do well at a competition but my body just didn’t cooperate. It is not that I
wasn’t prepared to do well, it was as if the situation aff ected me without my consent and I tensed up. Have you ever felt this? Though there could be sever-
al reasons for this, I would like to address the biggest one with you today. At these competitions I can remember being aware of judges watching me, how good the oth- er skaters seemed and how im- portant it was for me to do well. I didn’t know why, but these things seemed to zap my power. Some- where deep inside I doubted that I was as good as my competitors or that I could handle the situation. In other words, I didn’t value myself and my abilities highly enough.
You may be in this place as well. The way we view ourselves
is frequently described as our self image or self-esteem. How do you know when you have an accurate self image? When you can per- form in competition as well as you practice (or better). “The word esteem literally
means ‘to appreciate the worth of.’ Why do men stand in awe of the stars, and the moon, the immensi- ty of the sea, the beauty of a fl ower or a sunset, and at the same time downgrade themselves? Did not the same Creator make man? Is not man himself the most marvel- ous creation of all?” — Maxwell Maltz, M.D. Psycho-Cybernetics
Maltz also wrote, “Your goal is not to be an egomaniac, just to
Bronze-level dancer Olivia Dorsch and coach Bob Mock prepare for competition. Skaters prepare to take the ice for their warm-up.
have an accurate image of your- self. The truth about you is this: You are not inferior. You are not superior. You are simply you.”
Most skaters tend to sell
themselves short. Do you compare your weaknesses to other skaters’ strengths? Stop for a minute and really think honestly about that. Is it really fair to do that to yourself? No way! You were never meant to be just like them or they like you, so stop comparing yourself in a way that gives your power away. Next, don’t let the competi-
tion situation make you feel like a victim. Choose to be a victor instead. Release yourself from the burden of other people’s ex- pectations or comparing yourself to them. Doing this is like giving yourself permission to skate to your potential. One helpful hint I can give you is to mind your own business at competitions. Some skaters thrive on watching their competitors and if that is you, please continue to do that. Most skaters, on the other hand, will do their best by keeping their focus fi xed on themselves. Two ways to do this are 1) turn your eyes away when other skaters are perform-
58 DECEMBER 2012
ing their elements in practice or in competition and 2) listen to music in your earphones instead of lis- tening to how other competitors’ programs are going. I’d like to leave you with a
quote from a book by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are power- ful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most fright- ens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? …Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrink- ing so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. … And as we let our own light shine, we un- consciously give other people per- mission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Now go release yourself to be
who you were meant to be!
Ryan Jahnke is a former U.S. World Team member and founder of MySkatingMall.com, a site to buy and sell new and used skating items while raising money for skating charities.