INformed People Magazine draft 3

How do you eat a Purple Elephant?
When I retired from the winter sport of bobsleigh, you would have thought that I, being an
Olympian, had everything going for myself and ample opportunities awaiting. Well, that is
generally one?s perception and I thought so as well. We were both fooled.
I went through a long journey of self-discovery, to where I am at this present day. I wish I had
read the ?Coles Notes? for the next phase of my life in order to have made the transition
smoother, however; taking short cuts is not my chosen route. The lessons are always sweeter
when you?ve weathered the storm.
I was asked by a fellow 2x Olympian and my new coach in Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Michelle
Morton Giangualano, ?Who am I being and who do I want to be?? That really had me thinking, as I
felt the pressure of living up to the expectations of others, however, the highest expectations
came from myself. What did that truly mean? Was anything other than perfect, enough? How
would I start again? Then Michelle asked me further, ?What is the story I am telling myself and
where am I feeling stuck?? The answer came down to? I didn?t know where or how to move
forward! The solution was just to? START!
The biggest hurdle in everything is the start. Much like in Bobsleigh, the Push-Start is where all
momentum is created to launch sled and bodies down an icy track, where I experienced up to
speeds of 140km/87mph. This brings me to the Purple Elephant. How many of us have a
daunting task which is weighing us down and we continuously dodge the bullet at the thought of
addressing it? An audacious goal which we want to achieve, but don?t know how to start the ball
rolling? How many of us are held back by doing something that we fear? Always there is the
judgment and/or the thought simply seems like an intangible dream?
When I took on the challenge of writing a book, the hardest thing was? yes, to start!
In the process of sharing my experiences within the pages of my manuscript prior to publication,
I was made aware that I had a common thread, what I have called the 4As of Consciousness.
Everything I overcame in my sport career, relied on these four stages: Awareness (conscious of
my challenges/hurdles), Acceptance (wanting change), Action (getting into