‘Pressure is a privilege’ - Fraser-Pryce encourages student-athletes to plan for success on and off the field
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Despite announcing her retirement from track and field last year, Jamaican icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is still sprinting towards her life's purpose.
Only this time, the eight-time Olympic medallist is chasing impact beyond the finish line.
Speaking at the Pocket Rocket Foundation Student-Athlete Summit recently held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, Fraser-Pryce delivered a passionate message to high school athletes about self-identity and their preparations for the next step in their lives.
Fraser-Pryce, drawing from her own experiences on the track, encouraged the students not to confine themselves to their sporting careers but to build a network of opportunities.
“Yes, I am an athlete, but that’s not the entirety of who I am,” Fraser-Pryce said at the summit.
“You have to cultivate an environment that has you doing different things, finding different purpose and different passion.”
With eight Olympic and 17 World Championships medals to her name, Fraser-Pryce said track and field was a platform from which she achieved further success in her life.
She said a career in sports cannot last forever, and often, athletes find themselves without a plan after their careers are over.
She encouraged the students to find other passions in their life, which they could commit to after their careers are over.
“Outside of track and field, I am an advocate, I am an entrepreneur, I am a leader, and I am a philanthropist,” she said.
“I am many things. I am a sister, a wife, a friend. I have other things that I am invested in because I believe that my greater purpose is not just a medal,” she continued
“Whatever sport that you are chasing right now, it has an expiration date, and nobody knows when that expiration date will come.
“You have athletes who walk away from their sport, and they feel lost because they didn’t spend the time to invest in other things, to find their purpose in other things,” she said.
Fraser-Pryce said one of the most important parts in achieving success is learning how to handle pressure.
She said student-athletes will face a lot of pressure in their lives, both on the track and at their schools, to succeed.
She said learning to handle that pressure is important and said being under pressure means someone believes in your abilities.
“I am doing more things now than when I was running because I have other interests. I am invested in other things,” she said.
“If nobody’s pressuring you, or telling you, you have to do this, it’s that they don’t believe you can,” she explained. “Pressure is a privilege.”
Fraser-Pryce, however, warned that the students should be aware of how much pressure they are taking on.
She explained that while pressure is important, students should have their now goals and standards they want to achieve first.
“You cannot carry that person’s pressure on yourself,” Fraser-Pryce explained.
“Before the world exists, you are listening to yourself first. You are seeing yourself first in the mirror before the world.
“It’s not always about the medals because success is different to everybody, and everyone is chasing something different,” she said.