Stop comparing yourself: Lessons from an Olympian

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What do you have in common with an Olympic gold

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medalist? Turns out more than you think. Welcome

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to Loud and Lifted, the Women in Leadership podcast

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about career growth, confidence, and the real

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stuff nobody teaches you at work. I'm your host,

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Betsy Hamm. Today's guest is Charlotte Worthington,

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an Olympic gold medalist who's represented Great

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Britain in two Olympics. She's won gold in the

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women's BMX freestyle park at Tokyo 2020 and

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became the first woman to land a 360 degree backflip

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in competition. She also returned to compete

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at Paris 2024 to defend that title. And even

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if you've never touched a BMX bike in your life,

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this conversation is basically Olympic level

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leadership training, how to prepare your mind

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for pressure, how to handle fear without letting

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it run the show, how expectations can mess with

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your performance after success. And one of my

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favorite mindset shifts ever swap comparison

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for admiration. Let's get into it. Welcome to

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Loud and Lifted, Charlotte. Thank you so much

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for being here. Oh, thank you for having me.

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I'm excited. Yeah. So you have a history of breaking

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records and being the first to do things. And

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on Loud and Lifted, you are our first Brit guest,

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number one, and number two, our first Olympic

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gold medalist. So thanks for shattering standards

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over here at Loud and Lifted, too. I love that

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so much. I love it. Put that on your resume.

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I will. So excited to talk to you. You have a

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really interesting story. And as I said, you're

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the first to have accomplished a lot of stuff.

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So you are an Olympic gold medalist and freestyle

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BMX. And I would love to know how you even got

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started in this sport. So I ride BMX freestyle,

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but I haven't always done that. I got into sort

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of the extreme sports lifestyle when I was younger

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through watching my brother. He's older than

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me and he did skateboarding with his friends

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and I always thought it was so cool and we'd

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see bits of the X Games on like YouTube and things

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and it was so elusive. It was like a foreign

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land that just looked amazing and I always had

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a hand in it there and it wasn't until I went

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on a camping vacation with my family that I saw

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someone actually riding a stunt scooter first

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when I was about 12. So same thing on the skate

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park and you do similar tricks, but maybe it

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was like a little bit easier, especially as a

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young girl, like it was a lot easier to throw

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a little scooter around versus a BMX bike. And

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I saw someone do tricks and it kind of lit that

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spark. I just thought it was amazing. And like

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ever since then, I was just sort of addicted

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to extreme sports. So I did that for quite a

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while and it wasn't until I was about 20, like

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19, 20 that I decided to pick up a BMX bike,

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which was just because I'd sort of grown up a

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little bit and a lot of my friends rode BMX.

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And I sort of felt like I'd accomplished everything

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I wanted to on the scooter and I wanted a new

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challenge, but that was still in that same area

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of things that I love. And yeah, BMX was a great

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fit. That's awesome. So this sounded like it

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just kind of started something fun to do, right?

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Like a way to have like a... I guess activity

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or sport. But when did this become real? Like

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when did this become that you were all in and

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you wanted to go to the Olympics and make this

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like your profession? So that happened really

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quickly. For reference, I'm 29 now. So I've been

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riding BMX for nine years. And when I picked

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it up, I was working full time in a kitchen as

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a chef, as a cook. And it was a bit of a turning

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point of I wasn't riding my bike very much. Like

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maybe once every two weeks because I was working

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crazy hours. So I sort of wasn't progressing

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it was still fun, but it wasn't like Something

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I did as often as I wanted and I kind of said

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yes to a couple opportunities Because it like

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you said it was just fun and I'm an adventure

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seeker And so I went to like this little UK competition

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and it just happened to be the year that there

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was this tv show that was scouting for people

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so i got scouted for that like a few months later

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and whilst i was filming for that there happened

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to be uh the head judge of the uci there who's

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british and he saw me and said hey i don't know

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if you know but Team Great Britain is going to

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be setting up an Olympic team because BMX freestyle

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is in the Olympics for Tokyo 2020. And this was

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in like 2017 and I just started. So I kind of

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thought, well, worst case scenario, I get like,

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well, basically before then he said, here's a

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phone number and give it a call and see what

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they say. So I gave him a call and they offered

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me to go on the tryouts. So I thought, well,

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worst case scenario, I'll go on these tryouts,

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get a week off work and a free trip to North

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Carolina. And worst case scenario, I go back

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to work. And best case scenario, I don't. And

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it happened to be that I get selected. So I'd

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been riding BMX for like a year. And then this

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huge opportunity, this series of opportunities

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just sort of... the stars aligned and sort of

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land on my lap and don't get me wrong I worked

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hard for them and I think it was from then that

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it was like okay this is a huge opportunity to

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just work as hard as I can and maybe potentially

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maybe even make it to the Olympics like it was

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just a surreal well there's a chance here like

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this is an opportunity let's just try and work

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harder and see where it goes and that was my

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attitude going into the whole Tokyo process and

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it just sort of grew. Which is amazing because

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to your point, you had only just started doing

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it essentially to, you know, just kind of understanding

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the sport and then all of a sudden like, hey,

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you keep doing this, maybe there's an opportunity

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to go to the Olympics. Like that's such a cool,

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cool thought process. So especially back then,

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and maybe I'm being stereotypical, but it seems

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like a very male dominated sport, right? When

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you say BMX. I think of men doing it. So when

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you first got into the sport, especially years

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ago, like what barriers did you have to get over

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and how was the support around you in this sport

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for you? Yeah, I think it changed as I grew up.

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So when I was younger, it felt a little harder,

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like I was a little bit more outcasted and teenage

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boys are sort of interested in teenage girls

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that you know are interested in being teenage

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girls and I wasn't interested in that. I was

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interested in riding scooters at the skate park

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so that was a little tough but sometimes you

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get compared a lot to other girls that rode scooters

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or did extreme sports because there wasn't a

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lot. There was like a handful in the whole country

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and you know teenage boys just they have a different

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thought process and different attitudes so. At

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first like I didn't think I had my true friends

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really but once I sort of grew up and everyone

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matured like those sort of late teens everyone

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knows a bit more who they are. I found some really

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awesome friends that I'm still friends with to

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this day so that like on the whole everyone was

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like really supportive. I think again once you

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grow up again and go through that mid -20s shift

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you also sort of realize that men and women actually

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just think differently. and have different values

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and mainly one of the big things also was like

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approaches in our world to learning tricks and

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to fear. For men, stereotypically, their thought

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process would be that caveman, I have to sort

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of impress people and compete and outdo people.

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And like it's that thought process. But when

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I sort of had gone through some struggles and

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clashes of my own with people trying to convince

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me to do tricks like that, and it wasn't working,

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I sort of realized, oh, what actually works for

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me is more thinking about different values and

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why I'm doing it and things that are important

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to me and it's not about competing and showing

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up differently. So that was sort of like deciding

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the two very big differences being in a male

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-dominated sport. And was part of it, did you

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have to prove yourself that like you were legit,

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you were here to compete and to win and you could

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hang? Was that part of the building credibility

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with them or was it just over time and age they

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matured? Honestly, I think it wasn't even like

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that. I don't think in that area of sport, it's

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super competitive like that. I maybe felt like

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I had to prove myself because I wanted to and

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I wanted them to know that I was serious about

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it, but it didn't mean that I couldn't hang if

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I didn't want to do that. It's a very easygoing

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sport. So I did want to sort of, I think that

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was a competitiveness in me that was saying,

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I want to be able to compete with you boys. Like

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I'm not just here to compete against the girls.

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I want to try like a boy. Love that. Love that.

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So let's talk about the mental toughness. First

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of all, with your sport. Like when I watched

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some of your videos, I'm like, oh my God, it

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gives me anxiety to watch it. I know you're going

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to land it. You were the first woman to land

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a 360 degree backflip in a competition. I can

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just visualize that. I can't even fathom how

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you were born to do something like that. So Farrah,

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let's talk about the sport. How did you build

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your confidence and that mental toughness to

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compete in something that can honestly be incredibly

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dangerous? Well, we learn tricks similarly to

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gymnastics. So there's a foam pit and then there's

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what we call a resi ramp, which is like a soft

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ramp that has a little bit of give versus the

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solid wood. So there's a little bit of a step

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-by -step process. That doesn't make it sound

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any better, just for the record. Well, you'll

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do things in the phone pit, get it really dialed

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and confident before you're ready to commit on

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the resi, but it is a big jump. It's a big step,

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and it's always a mental thing whenever you level

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up a trick. You go in from the phone pit where

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the level of risk is very low to the resi where

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it suddenly becomes much higher. And it's always

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a mental challenge to say, I just need to do

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the exact same thing that I'm doing in the foam

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pit to what I'm doing on the resi ramp. And often

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the fear, it always happens, like the fear will

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make you hold back a little bit. You might lean

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back without realizing, you might rush it because

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you're like, I just want to get it over with

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or whatever it is. So there's definitely that

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practice of mental toughness there for sure.

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So how do you do that? How do you improve your

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mental toughness? You know, one of our most talked

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about topics on this podcast has been about confidence

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and getting outside your comfort zone. And you

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are doing that mentally, physically. So I'm sure

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you had ups and downs. So how do you deal with

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that and kind of build that becomes easier? Yeah,

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definitely. And it's honestly just practice.

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I think people don't realize you can practice

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these things like preparing for a high pressure

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situation or a dangerous situation like you can

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practice your thought process and that's through

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different techniques such as breathing like it's

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whatever works for you personally but there's

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things out there like like breathing returning

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to your breath and getting really present there's

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visualization like that's a big one for us it's

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visualizing not only like what's going to happen

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but also probably what feelings and thoughts

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you are predicting will come to your brain because

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that's actually out of your control but it is

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in your control how you respond to that so you

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can think okay I'm gonna go into this big competition

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or I'm gonna go into this meeting boardroom and

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I'm probably gonna feel at some point like I

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don't deserve to be there or like everyone's

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really intimidating or I'm gonna overthink everything

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that I do or say and it's like that It's not

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necessarily true. That's a lot of just random

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thoughts that anxiety and things is just bringing.

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So if you can visualize and predict those things

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are going to come, it's like you hear it. The

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key is hearing it and saying, okay, I kind of

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thought that I was going to think this in this

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situation. How did I plan to respond? What was

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it? Was it like, I need to just take a deep breath

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or was it I need to argue with that thought and

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say, no, that's not true? this is what's true

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is that I'm here to do the thing. So it's definitely

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like practice and taking a really objective sort

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of attitude into that helps as well because the

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emotions can they definitely cloud and fog things

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up a little bit. It's not to say don't dismiss

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your emotions but it's definitely to say like

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be aware of things that are emotions and might

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not necessarily be true. So practice is a big

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one for both. doing a trick every day physically

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and mentally and going into those high pressure

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situations. Yeah. So let's talk about high pressure

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situations. I mean, the Olympics is the highest

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pressure situation when you're an athlete and

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just the pressure I'm sure that you feel that

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you put on yourself, you're representing your

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company. So when you were at the Olympics, how

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did you, I mean, obviously the preparation, the

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practice that went into prior before you went

00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:12.379
to Olympics, but you know, how did you get through

00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:14.429
that? Super exciting, where you probably wanted

00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:16.850
to like love every moment and the fact that you

00:13:16.850 --> 00:13:18.809
were there, but balancing that with the pressure

00:13:18.809 --> 00:13:21.450
that you just felt during that. Well, I've had

00:13:21.450 --> 00:13:23.970
two Olympic experiences. I've had the absolute

00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:27.450
best perfect Olympic experience and I've had

00:13:27.450 --> 00:13:30.389
the absolute worst Olympic experience out in

00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:33.789
Paris. The best one came first, which is awesome.

00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:37.960
And how I prepared for the best one was a lot

00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:41.139
of visualization, like I said. At that time,

00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:45.460
I was working a lot on my self -belief and being

00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:47.759
able to sort of fight those negative thoughts.

00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:50.620
And I'd faced a lot of injuries too. I dislocated

00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.159
my shoulder even six weeks before that Olympics.

00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:55.740
So it was actually a blessing in disguise because

00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:58.299
it made me focus on the things I needed to focus

00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:01.019
on. So I was seeing like a big opportunity in

00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:04.299
that. So visualization was massive. A lot of

00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:07.299
things physically. and I remember that day I

00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:10.960
was often returning to my breathing, I was returning

00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.179
to keeping that right perspective and I think

00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:15.899
I went into it sort of a certain amount of non

00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:19.419
-attachment to the result. I was fully prepared

00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:22.460
to walk away with absolutely nothing because

00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.500
for me like the bar was like I'm at the Olympics

00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:27.899
like I didn't even think I would get here so

00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:29.639
it really doesn't matter if I walk away with

00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.700
nothing I just didn't see the downside really

00:14:32.700 --> 00:14:36.570
and I think it was being able to Be just totally

00:14:36.570 --> 00:14:39.049
present in the process through all those things

00:14:39.049 --> 00:14:42.549
visualization breathing techniques and and practice

00:14:42.549 --> 00:14:45.090
that allowed me to sort of not be thinking about

00:14:45.090 --> 00:14:48.090
the result and just say it's out of my control

00:14:48.090 --> 00:14:51.409
because so much especially in our sport is out

00:14:51.409 --> 00:14:54.570
of your control and It was there was that that

00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:57.669
allowed me to take the risk and be calm and present

00:14:57.669 --> 00:15:00.909
and just be like if I mess up What does it really

00:15:00.909 --> 00:15:02.909
change? Like, I'm still going to enjoy riding

00:15:02.909 --> 00:15:06.649
my bike and I'll just be back where I was before.

00:15:06.669 --> 00:15:09.149
It doesn't make a big difference. And I think

00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:11.230
that was just so healthy. And then I've made

00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:14.230
the mistake of going into the next Olympics without

00:15:14.230 --> 00:15:17.169
realizing sort of everything had flipped upside

00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:20.950
down. And I suddenly was going in with this massive

00:15:20.950 --> 00:15:24.350
expectation of like feeling a need and a pressure

00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:28.169
to get gold and like working backwards and just

00:15:28.169 --> 00:15:31.350
assuming that That was now the bar that was set

00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:34.710
and I should have in hindsight like it's a much

00:15:34.710 --> 00:15:36.929
better approach to sort of start with a blank

00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:39.070
slate and not have any of those expectations

00:15:39.070 --> 00:15:41.230
because you don't know what's going to come up

00:15:41.230 --> 00:15:44.509
along the journey and it's not sustainable also

00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:47.750
to be riding at that high level for such a long

00:15:47.750 --> 00:15:49.789
time. You need the peaks and the troughs and

00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:53.149
you need to be okay and confident in accepting

00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:56.100
them. That's so interesting and that's so true

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:58.220
just in life generally where you know you went

00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:00.159
in with this sort of open mind and hey look what

00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.039
I've accomplished to this point the first time

00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.299
and it worked out well and then the second time

00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:06.120
just the pressure and the stress that you're

00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:08.980
putting on yourself just impacted your performance

00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:11.440
and impacted your experience which I think we

00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:13.919
can all relate to so that's super interesting.

00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:17.009
thought process for sure. You know, one thing

00:16:17.009 --> 00:16:19.750
you had talked about when I heard you speak on

00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:22.070
a panel when I never really thought about is

00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:24.509
the difference in participating in an individual

00:16:24.509 --> 00:16:27.509
sport versus a team sport, right? Like I grew

00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:29.570
up playing team sports, my daughters play volleyball,

00:16:29.730 --> 00:16:32.210
so everything's team, team, team, and the camaraderie

00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:35.009
and lifting each other up. So when you're in

00:16:35.009 --> 00:16:38.259
an individual sport, how does that... How does

00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:41.139
that work? Who's there to support you? Who's

00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:44.120
there to be your cheerleader physically, mentally,

00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:45.980
emotionally, whatever it is. But how does that

00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:48.519
work and how do you manage to have that strength

00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:52.059
to be on your own? Well, I think it's a little

00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:54.120
bit of a personal preference as to whether you

00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:58.080
like team sports or individual sports. As a teenager,

00:16:58.299 --> 00:17:01.559
I always hated team sports. I think it was because

00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:04.059
I probably had a couple of negative experiences

00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:07.430
and I felt like... I think just my thought process

00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:10.609
was when I mess up, I let other people down versus

00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:13.410
if I just mess up on my own, then I let myself

00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:15.990
down and it's fine. Like I can, I could deal

00:17:15.990 --> 00:17:17.910
with that more than letting other people down

00:17:17.910 --> 00:17:19.470
at the time. And I think that was my thought

00:17:19.470 --> 00:17:23.529
process. And I also liked, I just liked being

00:17:23.529 --> 00:17:25.829
able to do stuff on my own a little bit. Like

00:17:25.829 --> 00:17:29.390
I, I'm fine being a bit of a loner at times.

00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:33.569
BMX is very collaborative, but I am okay. doing

00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:35.970
my sport, like in my own space and world. Like

00:17:35.970 --> 00:17:37.990
it's where I get to escape and that's why I loved

00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:42.049
it so much. So when you compete in that, again,

00:17:42.230 --> 00:17:44.829
two very different experiences and the sport

00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:47.069
also has just developed with the implication

00:17:47.069 --> 00:17:51.289
of the Olympics. So like at the start, the first

00:17:51.289 --> 00:17:54.519
Olympic cycle for those first three years, I

00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:57.140
was pretty much the only girl, or at least the

00:17:57.140 --> 00:17:59.859
only girl that was that dedicated the whole time.

00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:02.500
There was like other girls on the team, but they

00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:06.059
didn't, they didn't last the whole way. And I

00:18:06.059 --> 00:18:09.400
was sort of guilty and being a bit like that's

00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.160
sort of my comfort zone. Like I was fine with

00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:13.519
that. And again, it was an individual sport.

00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:16.119
I was happy being out there on my own. I was

00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:19.519
single sort of, I was very much just a lone wolf.

00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:23.490
And I think it was post Tokyo. a lot shifted,

00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:27.390
like I got married recently, I was engaged a

00:18:27.390 --> 00:18:29.630
couple years ago when I met my husband Matt.

00:18:29.950 --> 00:18:32.950
I suddenly had this team around me, like two

00:18:32.950 --> 00:18:36.509
teams, I had a support team with my friends and

00:18:36.509 --> 00:18:41.990
family and I also had this team now with the

00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:46.029
BMX and it was actually like a bit of a struggle

00:18:46.029 --> 00:18:48.869
to adjust to that because my comfort zone is

00:18:48.869 --> 00:18:51.299
sort of being that lone wolf. But then it was

00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:54.960
an adjustment of, well, this team thing is sort

00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.220
of being forced upon me because the popularity

00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:59.019
of the sport and the investment of the sport

00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:02.099
is going up and I'm being told to like be a role

00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.900
model and do all this stuff and help people,

00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:07.460
which I love doing all that, but I just sort

00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:09.700
of, I had a lot on my shoulders and I didn't

00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:12.259
know how to handle suddenly becoming the Olympic

00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:14.799
champion and then having all these moving parts

00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.279
of different people in what I had my process

00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:20.299
figured out and it was all changing and I wasn't

00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.599
doing well with like the change with that, honestly.

00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:26.880
And I've learned a lot since then about, about

00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:31.079
team sports and how now I have changed my perspective

00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:34.660
on if I'm in a team, helping others often helps

00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:38.359
me. And it's, it's a little tough in an individual

00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:41.119
sport. You have to really drop your ego because

00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:45.200
in one sense it can feel like if I help others,

00:19:45.259 --> 00:19:48.400
then I'm not helping myself because they're getting

00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:51.380
better. Therefore that. increases the gap for

00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:53.940
me and therefore I'm getting worse and like I

00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.119
was really stuck in that thought process for

00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:58.779
a long time and I was kind of battling myself

00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:02.299
as like I want to be a good helpful person and

00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:04.400
I know I can help these people but like I almost

00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.319
feel awful about doing it or like it's stressing

00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.640
me out doing it because it's like making my job

00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.849
harder and I was in a bit of a a tough loop so

00:20:12.849 --> 00:20:14.930
that's definitely some lessons I've learned about

00:20:14.930 --> 00:20:18.029
teamwork like painful lessons and now I embrace

00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:21.150
it a lot more and I feel like an individual sport

00:20:21.150 --> 00:20:23.809
whilst you're out there competing against everyone

00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:25.990
at the same time you're competing against no

00:20:25.990 --> 00:20:28.329
one because everyone's out there competing against

00:20:28.329 --> 00:20:31.130
everyone so I kind of like that and it's a good

00:20:31.130 --> 00:20:34.250
perspective and now I'll embrace team and feeling

00:20:34.250 --> 00:20:38.730
like I've got that home support and life isn't

00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:43.079
like all about me and it's an individual sport.

00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.299
Sport itself is very selfish and it's actually

00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:49.059
now it's healthier for me to have those distractions.

00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:54.140
It's so interesting. So it's changed my perspective

00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:57.579
a lot, a lot of learning. And you legit are competing

00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:59.660
against these people, right? Like we talk about

00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:01.539
from a professional situation where women feel

00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:04.359
like they're competing for a role and maybe they're

00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.240
not. Maybe it's just for attention or status

00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.960
or whatever it is where we create this competition

00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:13.180
in our head. But here you are in a situation

00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:15.420
where you really are competing. Like somebody

00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:17.660
could take your spot or get it in the next Olympics

00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:19.859
or the next event, which is interesting to your

00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:22.059
point of trying to balance that they can push

00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:25.150
you, but then they could also take. your spot.

00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:28.589
So especially as, you know, as more women probably

00:21:28.589 --> 00:21:30.650
were getting involved in the sport, how did you

00:21:30.650 --> 00:21:33.289
deal with that specifically with women with the

00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:36.910
ego and the competition piece? And again, you

00:21:36.910 --> 00:21:39.609
are competing, so it does make it interesting.

00:21:40.009 --> 00:21:43.069
So how did you start to embrace that deal with

00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:46.730
it as you continue to grow? You say like if you

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:48.809
help someone else in a team, your team gets better,

00:21:48.809 --> 00:21:51.329
better, and therefore you get better. But if

00:21:51.329 --> 00:21:53.069
you help someone else individually, it doesn't,

00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:56.569
it sometimes doesn't feel like that. So I sort

00:21:56.569 --> 00:22:01.250
of worked a lot on, it was a tough time and I

00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:03.849
had to take a bit of a break and sort of distance

00:22:03.849 --> 00:22:05.849
myself from it all. Cause I was just very wrapped

00:22:05.849 --> 00:22:09.130
up in these negative thought cycles. So I did

00:22:09.130 --> 00:22:11.829
that and took a long, long hard look at myself.

00:22:12.049 --> 00:22:14.210
And I read, I read a couple of books that also

00:22:14.210 --> 00:22:17.750
helped a lot. One was Ego is the Enemy by Ryan

00:22:17.750 --> 00:22:22.019
Holiday and As someone who was always much more

00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:24.319
under -confident growing up and felt a bit left

00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:28.220
out and bullied and whatever, I always thought,

00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:32.140
I'm not egotistical. Ego is being, I'm the best

00:22:32.140 --> 00:22:36.019
and I'm all arrogant and you should think I'm

00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:38.319
better than everyone. That's what I thought ego

00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:42.000
was. And the start of this book just quotes,

00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.099
ego is simply either, I think I'm better than

00:22:46.099 --> 00:22:47.779
everyone, so you should treat me differently.

00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:51.339
Or it's, I think I'm worse than everyone. So

00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:54.140
you should treat me differently. And it took

00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:56.660
a minute for me to handle like, how can being

00:22:56.660 --> 00:23:00.019
under confident be egotistical? And then I would

00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:03.400
sort of see the impact of sort of people being

00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:05.579
all down on themselves, the impact it has on

00:23:05.579 --> 00:23:07.640
the rest of the room and not being supportive

00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:10.599
of other people. It really does. It sucks the

00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:12.559
energy out of the room and it's kind of selfish.

00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:14.819
And it's been a bit, instead of like dropping

00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:17.319
your own... struggles that you have right now

00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:20.099
and saying, you know, it's not my day, but it's

00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:22.220
your day and let's make your day the best day.

00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:24.420
And through doing that, it's going to make me

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:28.259
feel inspired and better about myself. So that

00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:30.740
was like definitely quite a big journey. I was,

00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.960
I was evaluating like, where am I getting upset

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:36.380
over someone that's doing something that's out

00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:39.259
of my control. It's affected me so much. So it

00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:41.980
was definitely a personal deep dive of, of ego.

00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:46.640
And I eventually came up with. a quote that just

00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.240
helped me get through it, which was swap comparison

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:52.819
for admiration. Instead of just saying stop doing

00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:55.640
this or don't do that, your brain needs an action

00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:59.200
to focus on. So I was like, okay, every time

00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.259
I see like my competition do something in the

00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:05.619
skate park, I'm going to tell my brain to stop

00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:08.099
comparing and then give it something to focus

00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:12.279
on and say admire it. So look at this trick in

00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:15.079
my case that this that my competition's doing

00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:18.380
and say wow that's so good like yeah I can't

00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:21.140
do that but I hope I can like I hope I can learn

00:24:21.140 --> 00:24:23.980
that or what what's she doing that I can learn

00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:27.200
from that or how can I interpret that in my own

00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:31.059
writing and that really helped me like put an

00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:34.660
action in there to help get over my sort of competitiveness

00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:38.119
with other women because it was like a real it

00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:40.220
was a real struggle when you're used to being

00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.119
the only girl in a male -dominated environment

00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:45.259
and there's only a couple of you. It's a lot

00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:48.220
easier to be compared against each other and

00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:50.480
compare yourselves against each other and I think

00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.500
that's where a lot of women just don't remember

00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.079
to, that it's hard to like let go of yourself

00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.460
and just support others but I think other people

00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:03.099
have done it for me and it was so powerful and

00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:06.099
I thought wow like it you don't have to say something

00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:08.859
nice because I'm competing against you and that's

00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:11.559
made me feel real good like I really admire that

00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:14.599
and that's really strong and I think and I've

00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:16.859
definitely heard like strong women support strong

00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:19.880
women so so strong women support other women

00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:23.119
sorry so it really made me think wow it is strong

00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:28.119
to like be confident in yourself and you just

00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:31.160
know yourself enough to be able to support someone

00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:34.349
else and not be beaten down by it So yeah, I

00:25:34.349 --> 00:25:38.309
swapped comparison for admiration, and it definitely

00:25:38.309 --> 00:25:40.630
helped change my perspective on that. And now

00:25:40.630 --> 00:25:43.190
when I see things that in the past would have

00:25:43.190 --> 00:25:46.230
triggered me to shrink and feel bad about myself,

00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:49.910
it makes me open up and go, what can I learn

00:25:49.910 --> 00:25:53.970
from that? That's awesome. Give her praise and

00:25:53.970 --> 00:25:57.210
just admire it and say, I want to do that, or

00:25:57.210 --> 00:26:00.369
what can I do to contribute to that? Because

00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:02.109
I don't think I would think that way about seeing

00:26:02.109 --> 00:26:04.650
a boy do a trick like that. I would just think,

00:26:04.670 --> 00:26:06.670
oh, they're just doing that trick and that's

00:26:06.670 --> 00:26:09.470
cool. But if it was a girl, it's like a big deal.

00:26:09.650 --> 00:26:11.829
It's like, oh, she's doing that, but I'm not

00:26:11.829 --> 00:26:13.730
doing that. And it means all this stuff. And

00:26:13.730 --> 00:26:17.210
it's like, drop all the meaning and drop your

00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:20.190
ego with it. I love that. I love swap comparison

00:26:20.190 --> 00:26:23.049
for admiration. That's such a great line. And

00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:25.000
I think what's super interesting that people

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:27.480
don't realize whether it's in sports or professionally.

00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:29.759
Sometimes we think that, oh, you get to a certain

00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:32.920
level. You win a gold medal, you're a VP at work,

00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:35.799
whatever it is, that suddenly you're confident

00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:37.819
and you're not comparing yourself to others and

00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:39.460
you're not going to be jealous or whatever it

00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:42.319
is. And the reality is that's just kind of like...

00:26:42.029 --> 00:26:44.769
in us. So does it matter to a lot of us? Like

00:26:44.769 --> 00:26:47.490
what you have accomplished, you're still looking

00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:50.430
around and, and it's taking that as a positive,

00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:52.829
right? Like not making it a jealous behavior

00:26:52.829 --> 00:26:55.730
or, you know, talking shit about somebody, whatever

00:26:55.730 --> 00:26:58.529
it is, but to your point, taking that as a positive

00:26:58.529 --> 00:27:00.369
and being like, Oh, that's great. That's awesome.

00:27:00.549 --> 00:27:02.650
Because I think we just sometimes get in our

00:27:02.650 --> 00:27:04.210
head that we'll get to a certain level and then

00:27:04.269 --> 00:27:05.950
everything will be fine, but the reality is we've

00:27:05.950 --> 00:27:08.450
got to quiet that voice or flip that script.

00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:11.089
I think you get to a certain level and it actually

00:27:11.089 --> 00:27:14.349
makes it tenfold harder because then you just

00:27:14.349 --> 00:27:17.329
have this expectation of, well, now I'm the Olympic

00:27:17.329 --> 00:27:20.250
gold medalist, so I have to be the best in the

00:27:20.250 --> 00:27:22.210
room. Every time I enter the room, I have to

00:27:22.210 --> 00:27:25.049
be the best in the room. That was kind of that

00:27:25.049 --> 00:27:28.160
mentality that I thought at the time was helpful

00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:30.839
and it was pushing me and it kind of was short

00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:33.440
term, but it can only go so far and it's not

00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.880
sustainable and it's not very enjoyable. So I

00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:39.099
definitely felt like I lost myself when I started

00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:43.220
focusing on meeting those expectations and I

00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:46.079
wasn't adapting to change and I wasn't letting

00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:48.900
my ego go and being willing to look at things

00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:52.960
differently. That was when I was up against it

00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:56.059
most. Sure. And you feel the pressure that you're

00:27:56.059 --> 00:27:58.000
obviously putting on yourself, but then you feel

00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:00.220
like everybody else has their eyes on you, pressure

00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:01.980
on you, like, Oh, what is she doing? How does

00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:04.140
she do that? Because they're looking up to you.

00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:06.039
And hopefully it's an admiration. Like, I want

00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:07.940
to be like, Charlotte, like, look what she's

00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:09.920
accomplished. Are you considered old for your

00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:12.680
sport yet? Like, are you one of the trailblazers?

00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:15.380
Right. So, you know, looking up to the older

00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:17.880
women who are in the sport, I'm sure you're like

00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:21.759
this icon. So it's hard to be that icon status,

00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:25.019
I'm sure. have too much pressure on yourself

00:28:25.019 --> 00:28:27.279
so that I can see how that happens. But it seems

00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:29.039
like you've taken the right approach to deal

00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:31.920
with that. And I'm sure it's a daily, monthly,

00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:33.880
whatever thing that you have to deal with. And

00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:35.480
I think a lot of times we get stuck like, oh,

00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:37.640
I talked about it in my head. I thought about

00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.380
it and move on. But this is probably a constant

00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:43.539
struggle that you have to stay focused on and

00:28:43.539 --> 00:28:46.269
make sure you're being positive about it. Yeah,

00:28:46.390 --> 00:28:49.329
it's definitely it's a daily practice, you know,

00:28:49.450 --> 00:28:51.450
and I wouldn't I wouldn't even refer to it as

00:28:51.450 --> 00:28:54.730
like a struggle I think it's just like a perspective

00:28:54.730 --> 00:28:58.170
and a practice like you've never arrived like

00:28:58.170 --> 00:29:00.829
I think the moment you think you've arrived in

00:29:00.829 --> 00:29:03.309
knowing how life works and you've got all your

00:29:03.309 --> 00:29:05.410
hacks and things I think that's when life will

00:29:05.410 --> 00:29:10.460
slap you in the face and say no Yeah, because

00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:12.460
that's happened to me. And I think it's definitely

00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:15.759
like a constant practice. And don't get me wrong,

00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.140
I'm not perfect at it. I veer away from it every

00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:20.619
now and then. And I need reminding. And that's

00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:23.200
why we call it practice. It's not perfect. I

00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:25.380
think if you live in from that practice and that

00:29:25.380 --> 00:29:27.900
idea, then on the whole, it just sort of makes

00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:29.779
your life a lot better and you get a lot better

00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:33.650
at it. Absolutely. I think now you have the opportunity

00:29:33.650 --> 00:29:37.869
to be working with young athletes. So when you

00:29:37.869 --> 00:29:39.869
are working with them at these camps, what kind

00:29:39.869 --> 00:29:43.210
of mentality or mental toughness are you trying

00:29:43.210 --> 00:29:45.910
to help, not instill in them, but just be a good

00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:48.789
role model about? I think probably that number

00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:51.910
one thing is the comparison, especially with

00:29:51.910 --> 00:29:55.390
the Olympics being such a big part of our sport

00:29:55.390 --> 00:29:58.710
now. You see a lot of kids starting it. because

00:29:58.710 --> 00:30:00.869
they have seen the Olympics, which is amazing.

00:30:00.950 --> 00:30:03.150
And they say, I'm so inspired by the Olympics.

00:30:03.210 --> 00:30:06.109
I want to do that. But then they feel like they

00:30:06.109 --> 00:30:07.990
have to be the best in the room. They feel like

00:30:07.990 --> 00:30:09.869
they have to be better than their friends. And

00:30:09.869 --> 00:30:13.910
I've seen the Olympics change the culture a lot

00:30:13.910 --> 00:30:17.109
in the youth. And it's gone from this much more

00:30:17.109 --> 00:30:19.390
relaxed sport where no one's competing against

00:30:19.390 --> 00:30:22.150
anyone to then now there's a lot more comparison

00:30:22.150 --> 00:30:24.910
and there's a lot more everyone's competing against

00:30:24.910 --> 00:30:28.400
everyone for the Olympic sport. It's actually

00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:31.460
like such a long journey and a lot can change

00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:36.619
in a year, in three months, in a week. So it's

00:30:36.619 --> 00:30:39.460
just really about staying in your own lane. It's

00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:41.720
freestyle because you're supposed to do it freely

00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.220
and there's no rules on what tricks you're supposed

00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:46.500
to do. So I would just really encourage the young

00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:49.500
people today to like stay in their own lane,

00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:51.740
be supportive and encouraging of others because

00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:53.980
it will make you better and they will do it in

00:30:53.980 --> 00:30:56.380
return which is going to make you better ultimately.

00:30:56.750 --> 00:30:59.630
And yeah, just focus on enjoying it because that's

00:30:59.630 --> 00:31:02.150
where you'll find your spark and what lights

00:31:02.150 --> 00:31:04.309
you up and what keeps you going. Because if you

00:31:04.309 --> 00:31:07.670
can't find that or you lose that, it's a very

00:31:07.670 --> 00:31:10.049
unforgiving sport if you're not enjoying it.

00:31:10.609 --> 00:31:12.410
And I think that probably goes for any sport,

00:31:12.630 --> 00:31:16.390
the amount of dedication and grueling hours it

00:31:16.390 --> 00:31:18.910
takes. You've got to find a good balance of,

00:31:19.410 --> 00:31:21.289
I'm doing this sport and it's something I do,

00:31:21.289 --> 00:31:25.029
but it's not all that I do and it's just something

00:31:25.029 --> 00:31:30.099
that I enjoy. So what's next for you? Not massively

00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:34.859
sure. I've just taken 2025 as like a year off.

00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:39.079
I set no goals other than very small, quiet goals.

00:31:39.559 --> 00:31:42.319
And I just wanted to like see where it took me

00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.099
because I've lived this structured Olympic life

00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:48.799
for like seven or eight years now for two Olympic

00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:53.039
cycles. I definitely felt like I'd sort of lost

00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:55.599
my intuition a little bit as to like where I

00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:58.400
really wanted to be and following my heart and

00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:00.619
it didn't feel as exciting anymore. So I stripped

00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:03.180
away all the competition, I stripped away all

00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:05.480
the structure, I'm blessed enough to be able

00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:09.059
to take a year out like very lucky to be in that

00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:11.980
position. I felt like I found myself a lot again

00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:14.779
and I was waiting for the answers to come within

00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:18.180
me as to what I want to do so. Looking towards

00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:21.079
2026, I do want to return to competition later

00:32:21.079 --> 00:32:24.299
this year. As far as setting LA as the next goal,

00:32:24.700 --> 00:32:26.559
I'm really not sure yet. I'm going to see how

00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:28.960
it goes. And I don't mean the results. I just

00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:32.319
mean emotionally, like if I go to the event and

00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:35.079
I really enjoy it, or if I'm like, this is what

00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:37.440
I thought it was or isn't what I thought it was,

00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:40.940
and we'll just see. So trying to take the same

00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:43.460
sort of approach as Tokyo, being really open

00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:46.299
-minded. But I also want to have some side projects.

00:32:46.460 --> 00:32:49.019
Like I want to help things in the community in

00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:51.460
state college, where I recently moved to get

00:32:51.460 --> 00:32:55.640
into a bit of public speaking. I hosted a young

00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:57.839
women's event last year that was like a huge

00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:02.220
success, where again, I got the girls to like

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:03.980
they competed against each other, but they also

00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:07.640
had to work as teams. It was BMX based. So again,

00:33:07.859 --> 00:33:09.920
trying to just trying to pass on the learnings

00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:13.420
that I've got. now. And I did it because I want

00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:17.160
to help the culture of BMX versus the Olympics

00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:20.000
progress of BMX, you know, because the culture

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:22.640
is like what makes it special. Oh, and that would

00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:24.779
have such a lasting impression. I love that you're

00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:26.579
doing that, of course, especially with with young

00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:29.640
girls and that sport. So that's awesome. So I

00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:31.940
love that approach. Well, Charlotte, if people

00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:33.660
want to connect with you, where can they find

00:33:33.660 --> 00:33:37.839
you? I'm mostly on Instagram, which is my handle

00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:42.400
is at Chaswerther, C -H -A -Z -W -O -R -T -H

00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:44.380
-E -R. Awesome. Great. We'll put that in the

00:33:44.380 --> 00:33:46.259
show notes too. Thank you so much for being here.

00:33:46.380 --> 00:33:48.619
You have an awesome story and I know you're just

00:33:48.619 --> 00:33:50.420
getting started, so I can't wait to see what

00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:52.859
you do next. So thank you. Absolutely. Thank

00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:55.019
you so much for having me, Betsy. All right.

00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:57.920
Charlotte. She's the real deal. My biggest takeaway

00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:01.579
pressure is trainable. You can rehearse the thoughts

00:34:01.579 --> 00:34:04.460
you know are coming. Stay present in the process

00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:07.700
and stop letting the outcome hijack your performance.

00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:11.219
In that reframe swap comparison for admiration,

00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:14.679
it isn't just a nice quote. It's a practice that

00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:17.679
changes how you show up around other high performing

00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:20.760
women. If this episode helps you, please subscribe

00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:23.340
or follow below. Thanks for listening. Stay loud,

00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:26.000
stay lifted, and practice your admiration.