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Speaker 1: Pushkin.

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Speaker 2: This summer, Pushkin is going to the Olympics. We'll be

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Speaker 2: sharing inspiring new athlete stories across our entire network, including

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Speaker 2: the latest sports science from What's Your Problem, some amazing

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Speaker 2: swimmer stories on slight change of plans, a cautionary Tales

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Speaker 2: tale about how women had to fight to run the marathon,

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Speaker 2: and an epic season of revisionist history on why America

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Speaker 2: participated in Hitler's Olympics. Here on the Happiness Lab, I'll

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Speaker 2: talk to the coaches who coached the team USA coaches,

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Speaker 2: and I'll hear from an athlete who fell back in

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Speaker 2: love with a sport that she'd grown to hate just

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Speaker 2: in time to head to the Olympics.

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Speaker 1: Be sure to check it out.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning, hey Georgia, nice to meet you.

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Speaker 2: I love interviewing elite athletes, but they're often tricky to schedule,

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Speaker 2: which means a podcast host needs to grab any opportunities

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Speaker 2: she can to chat with them.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for taking the time for this same.

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Speaker 3: Problem, thanks to waking up Eadie to do it.

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Speaker 2: To talk to Georgia, I had to get up at

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Speaker 2: the butt crack of dawn. It's like it's pretty out.

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Speaker 2: The sun's out already here in Boston, so it's all good.

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Speaker 2: Great your East case. That makes me feel a little

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Speaker 2: bit better of it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, if it was california'd be a little rough.

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Speaker 2: But I was pretty excited to set my alarm for

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Speaker 2: this interview because Georgia has an inspiring story to share.

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Speaker 2: Until recently, Georgia was a cybersecurity expert. She ran competitively

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Speaker 2: as a teen, but had a falling out with her

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Speaker 2: sport and hung up her sneakers. Then a few years ago,

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Speaker 2: she decided to try out a few amateur races just

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Speaker 2: for fun and learned that she was one of the

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Speaker 2: fastest women on Earth.

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Speaker 3: Hi, my name is Georgia bell.

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Speaker 4: I am from London and was working about have taken

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Speaker 4: the summer off to be a professional happy named for

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Speaker 4: the Olympic Games in Paris.

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Speaker 2: I really loved the idea of like, I'm taking the

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Speaker 2: summer off, Oh what are you gonna do? You're you

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Speaker 2: gonna like travel to France or something like, No, I'm

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Speaker 2: gonna run in the Olympics.

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Speaker 1: It's just just what I do.

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Speaker 3: Fingers cross.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, fingers cross was the intro okay, because I know, yeah,

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Speaker 4: brush people are quite bad at doing their intros. My

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Speaker 4: mom's like, you need to pick yourself up more. You're

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Speaker 4: British champion, your world finalists, so if you want me

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Speaker 4: to do it again, I can do it with a

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Speaker 4: bit more pizazz.

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Speaker 1: You did it great.

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Speaker 2: But I think that's another lesson for all of us, right,

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Speaker 2: is that, like, you know, we all have to kind

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Speaker 2: of to our own horn a little bit too. And

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Speaker 2: Georgia Bell has a lot to do her horn about.

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Speaker 2: After her return to elite racing at age thirty, she's

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Speaker 2: begun winning both national and international medals. She's also landed

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Speaker 2: a sponsorship deal with Nike. And what makes all this

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Speaker 2: even more incredible is that Georgia spent the last five

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Speaker 2: years sitting in front of a computer, not outrunning day

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Speaker 2: after day, year after year, like the runners she's now beating.

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Speaker 2: But George's talent didn't totally come out of nowhere. As

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Speaker 2: a teen, she was pretty much the best runner in

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Speaker 2: the UK.

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Speaker 4: I was English Schools champion when I was kind of fourteen.

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Speaker 4: At that point, you call really did too much training.

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Speaker 4: A lot of it is down to okay, this, this

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Speaker 4: kid is kind of good at this.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, it was something that.

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Speaker 4: I kind of knew from a young age was something

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Speaker 4: that I had a little bit of talent for. And yeah,

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Speaker 4: it was exciting to be at that level at that

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Speaker 4: age for sure.

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Speaker 2: And so talk about those early days because in the

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Speaker 2: US right now, kids in sports sometimes feel like they're

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Speaker 2: doing it out of pressure to their parents or that

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Speaker 2: kind of thing. You know, was yours from pressure? Did

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Speaker 2: you really like it? What was your relationship with it?

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Speaker 4: Early on, I beat all of the boys in the races,

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Speaker 4: and one of the parents just spoke to my parents

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Speaker 4: and said, you should really get her down to a

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Speaker 4: local running club. And from there I just started going Tuesdays, Thursday,

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Speaker 4: Saturdays down to my local club. So started running from

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Speaker 4: a really young age. I think the first race I

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Speaker 4: ever did properly on a track I was aged eleven,

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Speaker 4: and just continue to compete from there. Really, I really

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Speaker 4: liked it. It was really fun, It was really social,

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Speaker 4: you know, it was an opportunity for me to see

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Speaker 4: my friends. I was good at it, which I think helped.

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Speaker 4: You know, kids always feel they want to do things

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Speaker 4: that they're good at, so that really helped. So, especially

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Speaker 4: in the early days, I was just really enjoying training

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Speaker 4: and racing and just getting to do it as a

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Speaker 4: very social activity while also I guess at the same time,

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Speaker 4: not that I would have had awareness of this when

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Speaker 4: I was younger, but getting all those endorphins and things

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Speaker 4: that are good that come with exercise.

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Speaker 2: What happened when you went to UNI? Did you kind

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Speaker 2: of continue when you started college?

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Speaker 4: Yes, so I continued to compete, and I think what

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Speaker 4: happened was either I got worse or everybody else caught up,

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Speaker 4: but I just wasn't having the same results that I'd

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Speaker 4: had as a very successful youngster. Still managed to get

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Speaker 4: a scholarship to go to university in the US, which is,

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Speaker 4: you know, it was a really big achievement, and went

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Speaker 4: over there to the US, to berkeleyn California, to compete

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Speaker 4: on a track scholarship, but never ran faster than I

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Speaker 4: did in the UK. And I think that's really the

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Speaker 4: point where the pressure started to come in. Obviously, you're

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Speaker 4: a little bit of a business deal if you know

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Speaker 4: you're being supported financially to go over there and perform.

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Speaker 4: And I think that was probably the point where it

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Speaker 4: went from being something that I really loved did for fun,

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Speaker 4: but actually this kind of new element of pressure added in,

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Speaker 4: had a bit of an impact on my performance and

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Speaker 4: probably emotionally as well. The training is very different these

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Speaker 4: big scholarship programs in the US. They just have huge

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Speaker 4: roster of athletes and it's kind of a general training

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Speaker 4: program that you kind of fit into and you sink

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Speaker 4: or swim.

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Speaker 3: For me, I sunk.

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Speaker 4: I guess when I did that out in the US,

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Speaker 4: And you know, it really worked well for.

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Speaker 3: Some people, but it didn't work so well for me.

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Speaker 1: I mean, what was that like?

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Speaker 2: That must have been so stressful to kind of feel

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Speaker 2: that pressure you're far away from home, Like, how did

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Speaker 2: you handle it?

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Speaker 4: While I was really loving the whole experience of going

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Speaker 4: to a university in the US, and I still to

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Speaker 4: this day, I think it is an incredible thing to

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Speaker 4: experience from a running perspective.

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Speaker 3: But I just wasn't as good as I was in

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Speaker 3: the UK.

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Speaker 4: I was perpetually injured in and out of boots because

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Speaker 4: I had stress fractures, and so that just translated to

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Speaker 4: not running as well on the track and not running

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Speaker 4: as fast, and you know, that was obviously difficult to

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Speaker 4: deal with. You know, there's an expectation on you. You

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Speaker 4: expect certain amount from yourself, but also your team the

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Speaker 4: scholarship team, you know, everyone like that, there's an expectation

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Speaker 4: on you. So yeah, I was definitely a difficult time.

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Speaker 4: And you just have to keep showing up kind of

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Speaker 4: week and week out, even if you're not fit, because

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Speaker 4: it's your responsibility, you know.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a tough time in lots of ways.

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Speaker 2: I imagine I'm also also been kind of a hit

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Speaker 2: to your identity as well. I mean, I work with

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Speaker 2: college students really closely at Yale, and I think it's

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Speaker 2: hard for them to think of themselves as like, I'm

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Speaker 2: a person who runs, I'm a person who rows, crew

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Speaker 2: like I'm a runner, I'm a crew member.

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Speaker 4: Right.

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Speaker 2: Did you have to kind of update your identity to

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Speaker 2: deal with these changes?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it was difficult because I was used to being

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Speaker 4: from such a young age. I was used to being

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Speaker 4: kind of the girl that's good at running, and then

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Speaker 4: you kind of go through a period where you're not

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Speaker 4: so good at running, but everyone sees you that way.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, it was definitely a bit of a strange

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Speaker 4: piece for my identity. Also, when I just stopped running

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Speaker 4: all the the once I graduated college, that was strange

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Speaker 4: time as well, because again I'd gone my whole life

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Speaker 4: being the runner, and then all of a sudden I

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Speaker 4: wasn't running. So yeah, there were definitely periods of time

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Speaker 4: where this sport that was so combined with my identity. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: has some strange experiences coming to terms with who I

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Speaker 4: was without that. So how did you make that decision

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Speaker 4: to stop altogether? That must have been kind of extreme. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: it was in a way, I guess. I had finished

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Speaker 4: my collegiate career and I had graduated from Berkeley, and

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Speaker 4: I just wasn't running so well. I'd been doing it

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Speaker 4: for kind of the best part of twenty years, so

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Speaker 4: I just thought I really wasn't enjoying it anymore as

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Speaker 4: the bottom line, not only when my performance is not

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Speaker 4: good enough to sign professionally, but I also was just

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Speaker 4: really looking forward to finishing running. It had gone from

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Speaker 4: being something that I really loved and looked forward to

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Speaker 4: racing and training to I just cannot wait to be

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Speaker 4: done with this. I just took a complete break after college,

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Speaker 4: went into the working world, lived in San Francisco, and

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Speaker 4: it was actually really good period for me because it

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Speaker 4: was a chance to kind of do all the things

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Speaker 4: that you say no to you so much, you know,

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Speaker 4: even things like going for dinner, going away with friends,

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Speaker 4: just things you cannot do when you are an athlete.

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Speaker 3: It's a full lifestyle choice.

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Speaker 2: I'm just curious, though, because I think, you know, so

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Speaker 2: many people go through the kind of thing that you

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Speaker 2: went through, maybe not with running, but with something else.

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Speaker 2: You know, this job that you totally love now you

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Speaker 2: hate it, or maybe this volunteer activity that you were

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Speaker 2: into is now putting all this pressure on you. I'm

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Speaker 2: kind of curious just like how you navigated that transition

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Speaker 2: and the sort of emotions that came up from that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was hard.

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Speaker 4: I mean, on the one hand, I think people can

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Speaker 4: just continue doing things because it's been habit for so long,

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Speaker 4: and it's tough because I do think there is real

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Speaker 4: value in just showing up to things that you don't

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Speaker 4: want to do. That's what builds discipline, and then if

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Speaker 4: you do enough of those days over a period of time,

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Speaker 4: that's what makes the difference. So in running, you keep

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Speaker 4: showing up, that's when you become fit. You know, shop

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Speaker 4: on the days you want to show up, on the

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Speaker 4: days you don't want to show up, and then after

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Speaker 4: a couple of years, you know, you you become really

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Speaker 4: good appy, and I think that can translate into other jobs.

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Speaker 4: You know, you keep showing up for your job and

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Speaker 4: you get better at it and then suddenly you like it.

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Speaker 4: But I think, yeah, it had just been such a

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Speaker 4: long period and I just I'd thought about it for

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Speaker 4: a while and yeah, I just kind of sat down

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Speaker 4: with myself, talked to my friends and family and just

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Speaker 4: decided that for me, at that point in my life,

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Speaker 4: it was really time for a break.

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Speaker 3: So it's not an easy decision.

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Speaker 4: I'm sure other people going through that it would be

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Speaker 4: a tough decision. But I think ultimately, if you're not

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Speaker 4: enjoying it and haven't been enjoying it for a while,

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Speaker 4: then you need to make some changes to make sure

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Speaker 4: that you can be happy.

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Speaker 1: And so how long was the break and how did

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Speaker 1: you come back from it?

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Speaker 3: I think I didn't go.

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Speaker 4: For a run for probably like a year, like a

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Speaker 4: full break. I gained a little bit of weight, but

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Speaker 4: just kind of completely stopped for a while, and then

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Speaker 4: I really got back into it over COVID. So obviously

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Speaker 4: during that period of time, I was back living in

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Speaker 4: London at this point and there was just nothing else

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Speaker 4: to you know, everything was shut down and pretty much

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Speaker 4: the only time you were allowed to leave the house

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Speaker 4: was when you were exercising. I obviously took the opportunity

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Speaker 4: on to get out of the house, and then I

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Speaker 4: just found that I was really enjoying that release of

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Speaker 4: just going for a run. And then suddenly I started

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Speaker 4: adding things into my run instead of just going for

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Speaker 4: a small job and realized that I was liking that

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Speaker 4: competitive element to it again.

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Speaker 2: You know, what was it like when you first put

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Speaker 2: the running shoes back on, Like were they the same

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Speaker 2: ones that you had at Berkeley? Like, you know, just

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Speaker 2: kind of curious what that moment felt like.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly, Like it was shoes that have literally been

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Speaker 4: gathering dust, had them in touch for so long. And Yeah,

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Speaker 4: originally I like the why of getting out of the

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Speaker 4: house was I just need to get out of this house,

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Speaker 4: you know, like we've just been cooped up here all day.

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Speaker 4: And then suddenly it was a part of the day

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Speaker 4: that I was just so looking forward to. Yeah, I

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Speaker 4: guess it just felt really natural again, just running felt

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Speaker 4: like myself again. That's still how I feel about running today.

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Speaker 4: You know, when I have training or a workout is

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Speaker 4: still the best part of the day, The part that

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Speaker 4: I look forward to the most, and I think everything

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Speaker 4: had just been so intensified in COVID that, yeah, it

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Speaker 4: was probably even more heightened when I put the running

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Speaker 4: shoes on and got out of the house because it

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Speaker 4: was just such strange times that we were living in.

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Speaker 4: But it was definitely just like a realization that this

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Speaker 4: is something that I feel like I'm I meant to do,

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Speaker 4: I really love And yeah, it was a bit emotional

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Speaker 4: just coming back to that point. And then after lockdown

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Speaker 4: subsided a little bit. I'd gained some fitness over that

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Speaker 4: period and entered what we have of you here in

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Speaker 4: the UK was just quite big board park run. Every

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Speaker 4: park on a Saturday just hosts these five k runs

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Speaker 4: and it's just a really measurable way of seeing your fitness.

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Speaker 4: So I hopped into one of those ran a pretty

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Speaker 4: fast five k. I think I did a sixteen minute

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Speaker 4: five k, and then after that that made me think, Okay,

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Speaker 4: I'm actually in pretty good shape. Maybe it's time to

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Speaker 4: get back on the track after five years off, and

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Speaker 4: that kind of us at the who'll come back?

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Speaker 2: Let's put George's park run performance into perspective, shall we

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Speaker 2: running five thousand meters in sixteen minutes, puts Georgia about

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Speaker 2: ninety seconds behind the British record and just two minutes

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Speaker 2: behind the fastest woman on the planet for an amateur

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Speaker 2: race in her local park. George's time was pretty amazing,

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Speaker 2: But how did she take the next step to make

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Speaker 2: the steep climb back to the pinnacle of her sport.

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Speaker 2: We'll hear how when the Happiness Lab returns in a moment.

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Speaker 2: After years as a gifted runner in school, Georgia Bell

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Speaker 2: fell out of love with the sport. She just couldn't

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Speaker 2: see a life for herself as a professional athlete. But

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Speaker 2: the COVID lockdown her back and her running shoes and

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Speaker 2: she began clocking some pretty impressive times. But there's a

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Speaker 2: big difference between a park run and the Olympics. Running

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Speaker 2: may seem like an individual pursuit, but it's really a

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Speaker 2: team sport. As a teen, Georgia trained with renowned coach

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Speaker 2: Trevor Painter. If she was going to become a serious

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Speaker 2: contender again, she'd need his help.

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Speaker 4: I was just going for runs and training on my own,

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Speaker 4: which you know is not so fun. But I decided

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Speaker 4: at that point, okay, I've run a decent time I'm

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Speaker 4: actually going to get in touch with my old coach

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Speaker 4: who I was working with before I went over to

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Speaker 4: the US on a scholarship. And so I got back

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Speaker 4: in contact with him and said, look, no we haven't

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Speaker 4: spoken for years, but I've kind of run these times

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Speaker 4: on my own. Do you think it would be worth

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Speaker 4: us working together again and see what we can achieve?

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Speaker 4: And I know that Trevor had always said, you know,

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Speaker 4: I was the one that got away. He really didn't

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Speaker 4: want me to go to the US. He really thought,

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Speaker 4: stay in the UK. I can train you to be

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Speaker 4: an incredible athlete. He has got incredible athletes. You know.

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Speaker 4: Keey Hodgkinson is one of his who is hopefully going

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Speaker 4: for gold this summer. She got an Olympic silver medal

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Speaker 4: when she was just nineteen, So there's a lot of

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Speaker 4: pedigree in the group and his training. And yeah, we've

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Speaker 4: been working together now for two years and it's just

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Speaker 4: going so well. It's great to be part of a

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Speaker 4: community and you know, getting that guidance. Yeah, I just

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Speaker 4: felt very lucky that I was able to kind of

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Speaker 4: go back to him after all those years away, and

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Speaker 4: he said, yeah, let's give it a go and see

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Speaker 4: what we can do.

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Speaker 2: He must be thrilled to get you back, like it

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Speaker 2: must be like such a cool thing for him to

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Speaker 2: have the one that got away at coming back.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely.

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Speaker 4: I think it's been great for the whole group because there's,

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Speaker 4: you know, so many athletes that are doing well at

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Speaker 4: different times in their life. You know, I'm definitely one

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Speaker 4: of the more mature athletes in the group. A lot

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Speaker 4: of people just think of like sixteen year old phenom

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Speaker 4: runners that go straight into professional contracts and then the Olympics,

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Speaker 4: whereas I'm an example of doing it another way around

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Speaker 4: but still hopefully getting to that point. Yeah, he's just

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Speaker 4: been a fantastic coach, emotional support and guidance, and yeah,

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Speaker 4: I have full trust in him, and I think that's

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Speaker 4: one of the things that has led to a lot

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Speaker 4: of the success as well.

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Speaker 2: And it seems like now you have a slightly different

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Speaker 2: relationship to running than you did when you left Berkeley.

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Speaker 2: What does it feel like now when you engage in it.

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Speaker 4: Even though I am on a professional contract now, like

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Speaker 4: I am a Nike athlete since earlier this year, So

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Speaker 4: in a way you would think, Okay is kind of

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Speaker 4: pressured there as well. But it doesn't feel like that,

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Speaker 4: like I'm much more mature. I think I'm making a

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Speaker 4: lot more decisions over my body and racing and training

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Speaker 4: that I just felt like I didn't really have before.

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Speaker 4: And that means that I just feel a lot more

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Speaker 4: in control and enjoying it. So I'm just so grateful

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Speaker 4: for having a second shot with running that I think

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Speaker 4: it's just translating really nicely into races. I'm just happy

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Speaker 4: to be here seizing every opportunity. So yeah, I'm just

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Speaker 4: loving it at the moment.

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Speaker 2: It seems like you're less injury prone as well. I mean,

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Speaker 2: it seems like there's a kind of different model of

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Speaker 2: training where it's not like push push push, but trying

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Speaker 2: to maybe is taking in more rest and sort of

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Speaker 2: taking more breaks.

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Speaker 1: Is that right too?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, So I probably do about half the amount of

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Speaker 4: running that I was doing in the US and the USA.

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Speaker 4: I was on fifty five sixty miles a week. Here,

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Speaker 4: I'm running about thirty. But I'll do a lot more

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Speaker 4: on the bike to make sure I'm getting that work

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Speaker 4: without any impact. And yeah, take a recovery day at

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Speaker 4: least once a week, and then just some hard track

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Speaker 4: sessions to make sure that we're fitting her fee to compete, which.

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Speaker 1: I think is its own message.

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Speaker 2: I think when we're trying to push ourselves to something,

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Speaker 2: whether it's as an athlete or at work, or just

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Speaker 2: you know, with some sort of new personal habit that

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Speaker 2: we're trying to develop, we can sometimes want to push, push, push,

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Speaker 2: and like do it in this extreme way. But sometimes

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Speaker 2: engaging in a little bit of self compassion and taking

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Speaker 2: that rest can actually mean the difference between being able

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Speaker 2: to do it long term and like just some short

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Speaker 2: blip of whatever we're trying.

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Speaker 3: To do exactly.

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Speaker 4: And I think for me, knowing what it feels like

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Speaker 4: to be constantly injured and trying to come back to fitness,

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Speaker 4: I never want to be in that situation again. So

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Speaker 4: I'm much better at kind of listening to my body.

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Speaker 4: I'm very quick to kind of share information with my

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Speaker 4: coach if I'm feeling any kind of concerns, whereas in

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Speaker 4: the past perhaps I wouldn't do that. I would just

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Speaker 4: keep it to myself and it would translate into a

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Speaker 4: bigger problem. And so yeah, I'm just much more mature

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Speaker 4: in terms of looking after myself and making sure that

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Speaker 4: I am maybe doing less miles, but that means that

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Speaker 4: I can consistently build a year and year in year

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Speaker 4: rather than taking breaks out because I'm injured, and that's

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Speaker 4: resulting in, you know, some good performances on the track.

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Speaker 2: I mean, it seems like you're embodying a couple of

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Speaker 2: the happiness principles that we talk about on the podcast.

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Speaker 2: I mean, one of them is just this idea of

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Speaker 2: kind of mindfulness or being present. And they hear you

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Speaker 2: talk about running now, it seems different than the way

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Speaker 2: you talked about it at Berkeley, where it's like, oh,

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Speaker 2: it is this pressure thing and I'm worried about the scholarship.

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Speaker 1: It seems like you're able to just be present now.

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Speaker 1: Is that really kind of what's going on in your

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Speaker 1: runs these days?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. I mean being present.

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Speaker 4: There's nothing that you could get as close to that

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Speaker 4: as is with race day because you know, you haven't

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Speaker 4: got any distractions around you and on your phone, there's

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Speaker 4: no screens and you just are so in the moment for.

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Speaker 3: That period of time.

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Speaker 4: So my race is about four minutes long, and I

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Speaker 4: just love the feeling that you have where you're just

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Speaker 4: so present, You're running off instinct, you're reacting to the

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Speaker 4: crowd things around you, and yeah, it's just for me,

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Speaker 4: it's the closest thing to just feeling alive when you

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Speaker 4: have that race day moment, and yeah, you're just so there,

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Speaker 4: You're so present, and it's just something really special.

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Speaker 1: I think I love that.

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Speaker 2: Another one of the kind of happiness principles you've embodied

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Speaker 2: kind of comes with that. When you got your Nike scholarship,

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Speaker 2: which is it. My understanding is that you were kind

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Speaker 2: of doing these part grunds and getting faster and faster,

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Speaker 2: but you were also like working full time, right, Is

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Speaker 2: that right?

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Speaker 4: Yeah? I was, so, I've only I've gone on a

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Speaker 4: sabicycle over the summer period when I started running again competitively,

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Speaker 4: I was working full time and I have been until

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Speaker 4: quite recently. So in a way it was good because

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Speaker 4: it took off all the pressure financially, you know, I

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Speaker 4: wasn't relying on running for that in a way that

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Speaker 4: perhaps in the past I might have been, or how

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Speaker 4: other athletes might be. But definitely from a timing standpoint,

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Speaker 4: I did not have a lot of time. I was

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Speaker 4: pretty much just waking up early to train for for

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Speaker 4: work and then training after work. So there were really

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Speaker 4: long days and it was really tough, and so yeah,

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Speaker 4: since the beginning of May, I've been on just full

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Speaker 4: running mode and it is amazing. I'm just very happy

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Speaker 4: to have time back in my life to recover, train

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Speaker 4: and not be rushing around. But yeah, I was a

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Speaker 4: big juggling act at the beginning of this year. I

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Speaker 4: was at World Championships in March, taking zoom calls.

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Speaker 3: Between my heat and my final.

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Speaker 4: Not an ideal scenario for performing well, but luckily, luckily

441
00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,199
Speaker 4: it went well. But yeah, no, I'm very happy to

442
00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:19,400
Speaker 4: be having some time back in my life right now.

443
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,000
Speaker 1: And that's so nicely fits with everything we know from

444
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:22,880
Speaker 1: the science.

445
00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 2: You know, researchers talk a lot about this phenomena of

446
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,600
Speaker 2: time famine, where you're kind of feeling like you're starving

447
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:29,880
Speaker 2: for time, and that's like a huge hit on your

448
00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,119
Speaker 2: happiness and a huge hit on your performance. And so

449
00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,919
Speaker 2: it's so nice to see that you embraced, embrace the

450
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:37,080
Speaker 2: kind of time affluence, which is the opposite where you

451
00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:38,440
Speaker 2: kind of really had some free time.

452
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,760
Speaker 4: My life when I had that kind of time famine

453
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,159
Speaker 4: was just I was always just rushing, like rushing to

454
00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,040
Speaker 4: get to the track, to train, rushing to get back

455
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,960
Speaker 4: to be on my next zoom brushing in the five

456
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,080
Speaker 4: minutes I had between calls to make a protein shake,

457
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,360
Speaker 4: so I could not be starving while I sit there

458
00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,640
Speaker 4: between my next kind of block of calls, And that

459
00:19:57,720 --> 00:19:59,800
Speaker 4: kind of took me away from being in the moment,

460
00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:01,960
Speaker 4: you say, for lots of those things, because I'm always

461
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,719
Speaker 4: thinking about the next thing that I have to do

462
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:05,960
Speaker 4: and stay on top of, and so kind of removing

463
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,520
Speaker 4: that whole time pressure has just meant that I can

464
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,879
Speaker 4: enjoy those aspects of the day, my training and recovery

465
00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,399
Speaker 4: and all those things that you need to do to

466
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,119
Speaker 4: be a top athlete.

467
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,800
Speaker 2: I bet not everybody at your cybersecurity firm is like

468
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,040
Speaker 2: taking off time to like go to Olympics this summer. So, like,

469
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,040
Speaker 2: how have people reacted like you do? You are people

470
00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,240
Speaker 2: like shocked that you're kind of at this level now?

471
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:28,560
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely.

472
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,640
Speaker 4: I mean I think once I started running well, which

473
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 4: has only been since the beginning of this year, really

474
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,200
Speaker 4: where I've been in that elite territory. So it's gone

475
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,720
Speaker 4: from being Oh, Georgia kind of does some running on

476
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,760
Speaker 4: the weekend. She used to be a good runner when

477
00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,720
Speaker 4: she's younger, to like Okay, George is a British champion,

478
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:46,399
Speaker 4: she's a Nike athlete. Now she's trying to go to

479
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,560
Speaker 4: the Olympics this summer, so.

480
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,640
Speaker 3: It's been a big switch up.

481
00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 4: Work have been really supportive, but yeah, as you say,

482
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,840
Speaker 4: they were very surprised. I kind of told them, turn

483
00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,920
Speaker 4: on BBC. I'm going to be racing in World Championships now,

484
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,080
Speaker 4: I'm taking a couple of days of anual leave to

485
00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,160
Speaker 4: do it. And then I think they kind of realized,

486
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,440
Speaker 4: you know, how good an opportunity this is, especially ahead

487
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,360
Speaker 4: of the Olympics in Paris. So yeah, people have been

488
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,960
Speaker 4: incredibly surprised, especially because it's just kind of started as

489
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,800
Speaker 4: doing some part runs and has now escalated into this

490
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,440
Speaker 4: world athlete situation. But everyone is really happy, I think,

491
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,800
Speaker 4: and excited by the story. Like I've got lots of

492
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,560
Speaker 4: messages from people, both people I know and also just

493
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,320
Speaker 4: kind of strangers who are following the story on social

494
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,000
Speaker 4: media just being like, I just heard your story. It

495
00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:37,400
Speaker 4: just inspired me to get back into my local kind

496
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,359
Speaker 4: of football club or boxing, or you just inspired me

497
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:42,200
Speaker 4: to go for a run.

498
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:43,919
Speaker 3: Just hearing the story.

499
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 4: I think people can kind of relate to it because

500
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,920
Speaker 4: when you get into the working world. When you start adulting,

501
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,800
Speaker 4: you kind of just give up on your passions or

502
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,200
Speaker 4: things you used to do quite easily. But actually, this

503
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,080
Speaker 4: is kind of a situation where you continue to do that,

504
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:00,600
Speaker 4: and actually, if you keep showing up, if you can

505
00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,320
Speaker 4: get to these kind of exciting opportunities.

506
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,720
Speaker 2: That's what I love about Georgia, As she explained, so

507
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,280
Speaker 2: many of us fall into adulting, we give up on

508
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,760
Speaker 2: the hopes and dreams we had growing up. Georgia was

509
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,880
Speaker 2: able to rediscover her childlike joy for running, and that's

510
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,560
Speaker 2: taken her right to the Olympics. But Georgia knows that

511
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,359
Speaker 2: real life is not a movie. To compete at this level,

512
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,119
Speaker 2: Georgia realizes she'll have to face the same doubts and

513
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:26,840
Speaker 2: fears that have ruined many an athlete's career. So how's

514
00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,960
Speaker 2: she handling all that? Well, she'll share what she's learned

515
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:41,280
Speaker 2: when the Happiness Lab returns from the break. Fifteen hundred

516
00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:43,960
Speaker 2: meter champion Georgia Bell loved running as a kid, but

517
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,920
Speaker 2: competing under pressure as a young adult became less enjoyable.

518
00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:48,640
Speaker 1: Over time, she came.

519
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,239
Speaker 2: To dread her meats, But at age thirty, Georgia has

520
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,160
Speaker 2: returned to her sport with glee. She says that changing

521
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,560
Speaker 2: the way she thinks about the stressful parts of competition

522
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 2: has made all the difference.

523
00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,520
Speaker 4: The way how I used to see races, I would

524
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,199
Speaker 4: get really nervous for races. I would feel like this

525
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,840
Speaker 4: big expectation and I'd always be thinking about the things

526
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:09,119
Speaker 4: that could kind of go wrong and just let doubt

527
00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:11,760
Speaker 4: creep into your head, which inevitably, if you have that

528
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 4: in a race, it's going to impact your performance. Whereas

529
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,760
Speaker 4: now I just genuinely go into races so excited. I

530
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:20,800
Speaker 4: always think, you know, I could be in an office

531
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,200
Speaker 4: right now doing a zoom call, but I'm said, I'm

532
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,520
Speaker 4: in Oregon at Nike HQ going into this massive race

533
00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,520
Speaker 4: with huge athletes, Like how cool is that? Instead of thinking,

534
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,600
Speaker 4: oh my gosh, this is completely overwhelming, feel really out

535
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,920
Speaker 4: of my depth, and so yeah, I genuinely, as I say,

536
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,400
Speaker 4: I just love that feeling of being in the moment racing.

537
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,000
Speaker 3: Look forward to it so much.

538
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,240
Speaker 4: As soon as I finished my last race last week,

539
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,480
Speaker 4: I was onto my coaches, like, when's my next one?

540
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,720
Speaker 4: I think I've bought a two week break, now can

541
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 4: we get another one in?

542
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:50,880
Speaker 3: Before I know.

543
00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,720
Speaker 4: Within athletes, you know, life, it's not something you can

544
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 4: do forever. And I think in a way, just having

545
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,960
Speaker 4: that kind of time limit on it just makes me

546
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,720
Speaker 4: appreciate it so much more in a way that I

547
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,560
Speaker 4: just wasn't mature enough to do when I was in

548
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,200
Speaker 4: my young twenties, because you know, you think the world

549
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,600
Speaker 4: is your oyster then, and in any ways it is.

550
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,000
Speaker 4: But it's almost like getting a little bit older and

551
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:13,200
Speaker 4: just seeing, actually, you know, this is really special, this

552
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:14,080
Speaker 4: really unique.

553
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:15,920
Speaker 3: Go for it in every race that you've got.

554
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 4: And yeah, luckily for me that's translating really nicely into

555
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,760
Speaker 4: how the results are turning out in races because I

556
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 4: just take advantage of every opportunity and go for it.

557
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,359
Speaker 2: And I think that gratitude is so important, and I

558
00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:29,880
Speaker 2: think it does come from maybe not age so much

559
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 2: or wisdom so much, but really this ability to like

560
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,280
Speaker 2: recognize like this isn't permanent, right, you know, the ancients

561
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,600
Speaker 2: talked about this phenomenon of negative visualization, right where it's like,

562
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 2: what if I'm injured and I can't run anymore. What

563
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,359
Speaker 2: if I'm you know, way too old to run at

564
00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:45,439
Speaker 2: the same pace or to participate in races and it

565
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 2: seems like you kind of have that negative visualization almost

566
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,119
Speaker 2: on the stand. You're not thinking like, oh, I'm so nervous.

567
00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 2: You're thinking, you know, how many more of.

568
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:53,640
Speaker 1: These do I have? Like, you know, I'm so grateful.

569
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:54,440
Speaker 1: It's so cool.

570
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,280
Speaker 4: So you do that, yeah, exactly, And I just I

571
00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,440
Speaker 4: always smile on the start line and in the room

572
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:02,600
Speaker 4: before we go onto the race, which people probably look

573
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 4: at me and think I'm crazy, but I think it's

574
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,879
Speaker 4: just a good habit. It's kind of like tricks your

575
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,000
Speaker 4: body into reminding yourself that, like, you are going to

576
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 4: have fun this, it's gonna hurt, but like, this is

577
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,399
Speaker 4: a really cool opportunity. So when the camera comes around,

578
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,520
Speaker 4: you'll see that. You know, some people are super serious

579
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 4: and in the zone, but I will always be there

580
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,120
Speaker 4: smiling and waving. So I'm just thinking, how cool is this?

581
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:26,240
Speaker 1: That's awesome, It's so funny.

582
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,119
Speaker 2: I've started working out with my old trainer again, not

583
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,080
Speaker 2: nearly at the level that you're working out, but he

584
00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:33,200
Speaker 2: always in the middle of like you know, squats or

585
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,439
Speaker 2: something will be like and remember to smile, and I'm like,

586
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:36,160
Speaker 2: I don't want.

587
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,480
Speaker 1: To smile, Like my legs hurt.

588
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,959
Speaker 2: I hate this, but now Olympic athletes are to do this,

589
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,399
Speaker 2: so I'm gonna I'm going to find I think it

590
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:43,880
Speaker 2: does help.

591
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,040
Speaker 4: It kind of tricks you your your mind and your

592
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,480
Speaker 4: body just a little bit. And especially people say if

593
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,960
Speaker 4: you're doing a long race like a marathon or things

594
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,560
Speaker 4: like that, you know, if you see friends and family

595
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,240
Speaker 4: throughout the race, like it's good to smile and just

596
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,320
Speaker 4: like take a moment. And people do say there is

597
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,399
Speaker 4: a real connect between the mind and the bob when you

598
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,560
Speaker 4: do that, like if you're feeling really tired, it does

599
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:04,679
Speaker 4: a view kind of boost that you might not have

600
00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:05,280
Speaker 4: had before.

601
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,400
Speaker 2: And so I'm curious about how you're kind of dealing

602
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,440
Speaker 2: with the competitive parts now, right, I'm sort of curious

603
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,679
Speaker 2: how you're thinking about your comeback and sort of what

604
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:14,119
Speaker 2: it means.

605
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,680
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, there is obviously a lot of pressure.

606
00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:20,960
Speaker 4: Team USA and TGB are probably the hardest teams in

607
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 4: the world to make.

608
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,320
Speaker 3: There are just so many.

609
00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,680
Speaker 4: Good athletes, and you have to run the Olympic qualifying time,

610
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 4: which is basically the Olympics saying you're fast enough to come.

611
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,360
Speaker 4: So I've done that, so i know I'm good now,

612
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,800
Speaker 4: which is awesome, But I think I just look at

613
00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,760
Speaker 4: it as if you told me this time last year

614
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,240
Speaker 4: that I would go to the Olympics, there's no way

615
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,239
Speaker 4: I would have believed you. So I just feel like

616
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,720
Speaker 4: even to be at this point, I just feel like

617
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,480
Speaker 4: this is something so special and I'm just really grateful

618
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,080
Speaker 4: for the opportunity, which is how I deal with the pressure.

619
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,440
Speaker 4: I think I'll know I've kind of given it everything,

620
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,120
Speaker 4: especially with taking the break off work this summer. I'd

621
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,760
Speaker 4: really given it everything to make it to such a

622
00:26:58,800 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 4: special opportunity.

623
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 2: When you talk about enjoying your racist so much, it

624
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 2: seems like you're kind of prioritizing fun in a different way,

625
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,240
Speaker 2: And I'm curious, is that something that your coaching staff

626
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 2: has really emphasized, Like do they want you to also

627
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 2: be enjoying this and have fun too.

628
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,960
Speaker 4: They adjust to me a little bit. So every athlete

629
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 4: is individual, and running is such an individual spot that

630
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 4: they kind of work with what they see their individual

631
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 4: athletes works for them, And I think, yeah, they notice

632
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,439
Speaker 4: for me that when I am having fun and in

633
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,080
Speaker 4: a good mood, that's when I'll run my best. And

634
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,560
Speaker 4: so my coach will always say to me before a race,

635
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:34,639
Speaker 4: like go out there and have some fun. And I

636
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,440
Speaker 4: think that does work for me for me because I've

637
00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,359
Speaker 4: had that kind of break from corporate life and even

638
00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:42,520
Speaker 4: if you like your job, it is a bit mundane,

639
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,480
Speaker 4: you know, the commute, the day to day zoom calls like.

640
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,479
Speaker 4: And so for me, I'm like, this is so awesome.

641
00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,320
Speaker 4: I'm going to have some fun out there. And yeah,

642
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 4: that's that's what I see fun as being. Now, you know,

643
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 4: it's not going out with friends, it's not things like

644
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,639
Speaker 4: going on holiday. For me is and that's what I

645
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 4: look forward to the most. So that's why I see

646
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:05,159
Speaker 4: it as being the most fun.

647
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,119
Speaker 2: That's so interesting because I feel like so many people

648
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 2: with the same situation if they could let that competitiveness

649
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,000
Speaker 2: come in or a certain kind of fear, like you know,

650
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:13,879
Speaker 2: how do you fight off those kinds of things.

651
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,280
Speaker 3: Don't get me wrong, like I have that competitiveness.

652
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:18,880
Speaker 4: I do want to win, but I just think it's

653
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,359
Speaker 4: it should be hard and it will be. And I

654
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,960
Speaker 4: think racing is fun when you don't know what's going

655
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,480
Speaker 4: to happen. So the thing about the distance that I do,

656
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,280
Speaker 4: you know, fifteen hundred meters just under a mile, is

657
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,400
Speaker 4: it's it does have tactics in it, so it's kind

658
00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,000
Speaker 4: of like a game of chess. So ahead of that race,

659
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 4: I'm going to be studying, you know, what other people

660
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 4: have done in other races and when I can make

661
00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,720
Speaker 4: a move and based off my strength. And I think

662
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,640
Speaker 4: it's fun and adds pressure to it, you know, when

663
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,640
Speaker 4: there's a championship on the line, a European medal, that

664
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 4: if you take a risk and it pays off, like

665
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 4: it's the best feeling, but you have to put yourself

666
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 4: in those kind of dangerous or tricky situations in the

667
00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 4: race to get the reward. If you just play it safe,

668
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,800
Speaker 4: not gonna win. And so that's what I find exciting

669
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,640
Speaker 4: about it, And yeah, people watching the race will also

670
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,520
Speaker 4: be like this is awesome. And when people when you

671
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 4: watch races and people take risks like that and it

672
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 4: pays off, like it's just the best feeling for the athlete,

673
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 4: but also amazing just for the sport and the atmosphere

674
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:17,240
Speaker 4: as well.

675
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 2: It seems like even with taking these risks, you're kind

676
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,080
Speaker 2: of just like shoving the fear away because I imagine if

677
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 2: you're kind of doing something novel that that could be

678
00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 2: kind of scary and things like what's your relationship to fear?

679
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,400
Speaker 2: Is that something you've also kind of pushed to the side.

680
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 4: I'm pushing into the side a lot at the moment,

681
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,400
Speaker 4: and you know, don't get me wrong, Like I'll see

682
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:36,080
Speaker 4: people compete and be like, oh, that's you know, they're

683
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,440
Speaker 4: gonna be really tricky to come up against, or just

684
00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,080
Speaker 4: understanding that the race is gonna hurt, like you're gonna

685
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,400
Speaker 4: put yourself in pain.

686
00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:44,840
Speaker 3: I will train for it. I will do the work.

687
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,240
Speaker 4: And it's almost like that's the tough part of the

688
00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:51,520
Speaker 4: training day in day out, the missing time with family, friends, weddings,

689
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 4: all that stuff that you have to do, and then

690
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,640
Speaker 4: the racing is the time where you get to have fun,

691
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 4: you get to actually showcase, and you need those pressure

692
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 4: environments to get the good results, and it's exciting to

693
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,200
Speaker 4: see what can come out of that. There will always be,

694
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,240
Speaker 4: you know, fear and doubt naturally, but as long as

695
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 4: you can kind of overcome them, and I just think

696
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 4: I fill my head with more positive thoughts and exciting

697
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 4: thoughts and just over time, I've got really good at

698
00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 4: pushing away the fear, and especially in the race, I

699
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 4: go into races just with positivity and I hope I

700
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,479
Speaker 4: can continue to do that. It might be a bit

701
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 4: of naivety as well, because I'm kind of new back

702
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,640
Speaker 4: into the spot, but I hope that I keep that

703
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 4: naivete because it just means you go for it in races,

704
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 4: whereas you could get overwhelmed with some of the big

705
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 4: names and things like that, but I don't, And I

706
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:42,920
Speaker 4: just like how that translates into racing.

707
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:44,600
Speaker 2: It's so lovely how you've been able to kind of

708
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,160
Speaker 2: re embrace the beginner's mindset. It's just a reminder to

709
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 2: all of us that even if we're used to something,

710
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:50,960
Speaker 2: we can kind of get back to the mindset when

711
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:52,880
Speaker 2: we had when we first started something.

712
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,040
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly. It's like when you learn to ski or something.

713
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 4: When you're a child, you'll do it better, but when

714
00:30:57,840 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 4: you're an adult you can think of all the things

715
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 4: that could go wrong, and you could be a bit

716
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,440
Speaker 4: more scared. But actually, you know, embracing that kind of

717
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,479
Speaker 4: young mindset and going for it, like you'll learn more quickly,

718
00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,120
Speaker 4: you'll enjoy it more. And yeah, I've been taking that

719
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 4: into races.

720
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 2: There's such an interesting moral to your story, right, which

721
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,520
Speaker 2: is like, you know you were this runner at Berkeley,

722
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,200
Speaker 2: feeling like you're you know, kind of losing your time,

723
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 2: and that was it, and now you've really had such

724
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 2: an amazing turnaround, maybe even one that that runner back

725
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,280
Speaker 2: at Berkeley couldn't have imagined. If you were able to

726
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 2: kind of tell her something or kind of go back

727
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,640
Speaker 2: and give advice in some time machine, what would that

728
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:31,360
Speaker 2: be for her?

729
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,200
Speaker 4: I think I would have just said to her, you know,

730
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,600
Speaker 4: make sure that you're happy first. This doesn't mean this

731
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,960
Speaker 4: is all or nothing situation. There are opportunities in the

732
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,160
Speaker 4: future for you to come back and get into running

733
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,800
Speaker 4: when you're ready, when it feels right. I wish I've

734
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,000
Speaker 4: had known more stories of people who have these comebacks,

735
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,520
Speaker 4: and hopefully you know, if someone's hearing this, he's going

736
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 4: through a tough time or who used to have a

737
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:55,560
Speaker 4: real passion for something and was good at it and

738
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:57,560
Speaker 4: it's kind of just died out. Like I wish I

739
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,560
Speaker 4: had known that there are opportunities to come back. And yeah,

740
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,480
Speaker 4: there are just a lot of amazing stories. In the

741
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:04,880
Speaker 4: moment with me. On the one hand, you kind of

742
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,720
Speaker 4: went into the working world, just got back into doing

743
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,760
Speaker 4: something for passion and fun, kept showing up and as

744
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:13,440
Speaker 4: now in this position to go to the Olympics this summer.

745
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 4: But there are other stories like Ellie Saint Purier, who

746
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,719
Speaker 4: is an American runner who is now running faster than

747
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,240
Speaker 4: she ever did after having her baby last year. You know,

748
00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:24,560
Speaker 4: if you told her before that she's going to be

749
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 4: running even better after she has a baby, like she

750
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 4: probably wouldn't have thought that's the case. Now that I'm

751
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:32,640
Speaker 4: aware of kind of my situation and my story, you

752
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:36,160
Speaker 4: keep hearing others that are similar about having this kind

753
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,120
Speaker 4: of break and then coming back stronger. So that's what

754
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:40,880
Speaker 4: I would just say to my younger self and to

755
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 4: anyone else.

756
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,920
Speaker 3: You know, not everyone's path is linear. There are all

757
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,560
Speaker 3: these different scenarios of how you can get to the

758
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 3: same spot, And I think key is just getting back

759
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,160
Speaker 3: into something and doing it for happiness, and then if

760
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:56,440
Speaker 3: you keep showing up, then the results will come naturally.

761
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 2: I for one, can't wait to see Georgia's smile beaming

762
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,800
Speaker 2: the Olympic start line. It's so inspiring to see the

763
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,760
Speaker 2: joy she brings to running. But Georgia also has a

764
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,840
Speaker 2: lot of happiness tips for non athletes. She's taught me

765
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 2: about the importance of giving myself grace and time and

766
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,800
Speaker 2: having the confidence to take risks and doing stuff merely

767
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 2: for the enjoyment that comes from living in the moment.

768
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,600
Speaker 2: I wish Georgia and Team GB well, but my heart

769
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,080
Speaker 2: this Olympics will still be with my countrymen and women

770
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,160
Speaker 2: from Team USA, partly because I know some of them

771
00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,080
Speaker 2: are benefiting from the lessons they've heard on this very show.

772
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:31,360
Speaker 1: This is such a special occasion for me.

773
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 2: I have been a big fan, and it resonated so

774
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:36,440
Speaker 2: much with me that we were sharing episodes of the

775
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 2: Happiness Lab with the coaches we were working with. So

776
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,800
Speaker 2: join me to hear how happiness Science helps the coaches

777
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 2: who coach the Team USA coaches. All that next time

778
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,160
Speaker 2: on the Happiness Lab with me, Doctor Laurie Santos