In short
Podcast Episode Notes: The Lonely Price of Olympic Gold | Lindsey Vonn
Podcast Title
The School of Greatness
Host
Lewis Howes
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Episode Overview In this episode, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn discusses the hidden costs of her successful career as a downhill skier, including struggles with loneliness, depression, and the pressure to please others. Lindsey shares mental strategies that helped her cope with trauma and maintain her mental health throughout her career.
Key Themes and Concepts
- Mental Health Struggles
- Lindsey discusses her experiences with loneliness while on the road and the impact of depression on her life.
- She highlights how being in the spotlight can lead to feelings of isolation, especially in the context of competitive sports.
- People-Pleasing
- Lindsey reflects on her tendency to prioritize others' happiness over her own and how this pattern has drained her energy.
- She emphasizes the importance of self-fulfillment and the realization that it’s impossible to make everyone happy.
- Resilience and Overcoming Setbacks
- Lindsey shares her journey of turning failures and crashes into motivation for improvement rather than emotional baggage.
- She discusses her method of analyzing crashes to learn from mistakes and push past limits.
- Journaling and Self-Reflection
- Lindsey describes her daily journaling practice, which helped her process experiences and build confidence over the years.
- Journaling served as a reference point during difficult times, allowing her to revisit moments of success and clarity.
- The Importance of Support Systems
- Lindsey stresses the necessity of having a strong support system, including coaches, family, and friends.
- She shares how her close-knit relationships helped her maintain perspective and groundedness throughout her career.
- Transitioning After Retirement
- Lindsey discusses the challenges she faced during her transition from competitive skiing to life after sports.
- She highlights the importance of slowing down, processing life changes, and finding new passions outside of skiing.
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Key Takeaways
- Mental Shifts: The right mental strategies, such as brain spotting techniques, can help release stored trauma and build resilience.
- Self-Care Isn't Selfish: Focusing on oneself is essential for overall well-being and can ultimately lead to better relationships with others.
- Embrace Setbacks: Every failure can serve as a learning opportunity; pushing past limits is crucial for growth.
- Value of Authenticity: Staying true to oneself and one’s values is fundamental to achieving true happiness and success.
- Cultivating Joy: Lindsey finds joy in simple daily activities and cherishes moments spent with family and loved ones.
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Lindsey Vonn's Insights
- On Loneliness: "When the cameras go off, you go back to an empty hotel room and it can be really hard."
- On Self-Discovery: "You can’t make anyone else happy; you can only make yourself happy."
- On Resilience: "To find your limit, you have to push yourself that hard."
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Recommended Practices
- Daily Journaling: Engage in reflective writing to track progress and emotions.
- Support Network: Build and maintain a close circle of supportive friends and family.
- Focus on Self-Compassion: Allow for personal growth without the weight of others' expectations.
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Conclusion Lindsey Vonn’s story is one of triumph over adversity, highlighting the importance of mental health, self-care, and the power of resilience. Her insights offer inspiration for anyone striving to overcome their own challenges and achieve greatness.
Additional Resources
- Lindsey’s books:
- [Strong is the New Beautiful](https://amzn.to/49ZNsTL)
- [Rise: My Story](https://amzn.to/4qTIttI)
- More episodes of The School of Greatness featuring other successful athletes and leaders.
For more information, visit [The School of Greatness](https://lewishowes.com/1886).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOInspiration and Influences
0:45 to 3:15
Lindsey discusses her inspiration, Peekaboo Street, and her journey in skiing.
“life growing up, because I think that has a big influence in our life.”
Mindset of a Champion
3:15 to 6:50
Lindsey shares her competitive mindset and the importance of striving for improvement.
“She's going to relax and it's not going to happen again.”
Overcoming Doubts and Setbacks
6:50 to 10:00
Lindsey talks about her doubts after the 2002 Olympics and her journey back to success.
“I wouldn't change it because I think every injury taught me something.”
Crashes and Recoveries
10:00 to 13:15
Discussion on the frequency of crashes, injuries, and the mental toughness required to overcome them.
“I mean, I tried as hard as I could to set myself up, you know, and I had plenty of work and plenty of things to do.”
Transitioning from Competition
13:15 to 14:01
Lindsey reflects on her transition from skiing to life post-competition, especially during COVID.
“I'm like, wow, it's a really good perspective.”
Overcoming Setbacks in Life
14:01 to 14:52
Learn how to bounce back from life's challenges and setbacks.
“your competition is 60 seconds, 45 seconds, and you're a little bit off, and you're done.”
Journaling for Self-Reflection
14:53 to 16:40
Discover the benefits of journaling for personal growth and confidence.
“But I think the biggest thing is just believing in yourself, which can be very difficult to do, obviously, especially if you have like multiple setbacks in a row.”
The Importance of Passion and Motivation
16:41 to 18:10
Understand how passion drives athletes through adversity and challenges.
“And, you know, my own words helped me visualize that, which then translated into me finding my way again.”
Navigating Loneliness in Sports
18:11 to 20:12
Explore the loneliness athletes experience and its impact on mental health.
“How important was mental health for you, you know, throughout your entire career?”
Reflecting on Career Transitions
20:13 to 21:30
Learn about the emotional transitions athletes face post-career.
“So it sounds like it only took you two years to kind of transition from the sport to feeling at peace about moving past it now, right?”
Show all 26 chapters
Rituals and Processing Achievements
21:31 to 23:09
Discover how rituals help process achievements and emotions.
“I always had like my Olympic medals in my sock drawer.”
Mental Health Strategies for Athletes
23:10 to 25:09
Explore effective mental health strategies post-career.
“I can be happy about what I did, but it's not what I do.”
Brain Spotting Technique Explained
25:10 to 27:24
Understand the brain spotting technique for emotional healing.
“And again, we're with a lot of athletes.”
Confidence in Competition vs. Life
27:25 to 28:00
Learn about the contrast between confidence in competition and everyday life.
“And then by the end, it becomes less triggering and less triggering.”
Navigating Friendship and Fear of Judgment
28:00 to 29:59
Explore how Lindsey Vonn balances her small circle of friends with the pressures of competition.
“You know, I mean, I travel all the time.”
Building Confidence Through Routine
30:00 to 32:26
Learn how Lindsey maintains confidence through workout routines and personal rituals.
“Honestly, I think working out is one of the best things that's happened to me.”
The Power of a Supportive Team
32:27 to 33:39
Understand the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive people for success.
“harder and again, then be more successful.”
Lessons from Coaches and Overcoming Negativity
33:40 to 35:39
Discover the key lessons learned from coaches and methods to handle negative thoughts.
“What were your coaches and your team like when you were competing?”
Embracing Uncertainty and Personal Growth
35:40 to 38:19
Delve into how embracing uncertainty can lead to personal growth and fulfillment.
“Did you have a technique that allowed you to get out of it into more positivity?”
Family Values and Staying Grounded
38:20 to 42:00
Explore how family values have shaped Lindsey and helped her remain grounded amid fame.
“And when do you feel the most loved when you're doing what?”
Growing Up in a Small Town
42:00 to 43:09
Lindsey discusses her small-town roots and how they shaped her identity.
“So it doesn't matter what I do, I'm always going to be me, and they always treat me like that.”
Lessons from Family and Fame
43:10 to 45:14
Lindsey reflects on how her family kept her grounded amidst fame.
“I've had you imagine your childhood, your older self.”
The Three Truths Exercise
45:15 to 46:05
A thought-provoking exercise where Lindsey shares her three key life lessons.
“I cannot make anyone else happy no matter what I do or how hard I try.”
The Struggle of People Pleasing
46:06 to 47:58
Lindsey and the host discuss the challenges of trying to please others.
“Especially like intimate relationships and close dynamics.”
Understanding Happiness and Responsibility
47:59 to 49:58
Exploration of personal happiness and the importance of prioritizing one's own needs.
“What if you disappoint millions of people?”
The Journey of Writing a Book
49:59 to 52:02
Lindsey shares insights into her upcoming book and what it aims to convey.
“Ask some psychologist because that's a deep question I don't have the answer for.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspirational Lindsay Vaughn in the house. I'm so excited you're here. I was telling you before, it's always great having the greatest of all time in their field. And you're the greatest downhill skier of all time. And it's exciting to have you here. We have some mutual friends, which I'll share more afterwards, but I'm excited to learn about your mindset because it's always fascinating to me the way people think who get to the top. And as a former professional football player and USA handball player, I was never at your level.
0:32I never made the Olympics, but I was able to, you're still professional. So, but I was able to train, I was able to train hard and I was able to get to a certain level, but not to the level you're at, which is inspiring. So I'm curious and I'm always curious about the most influential person in your life growing up, because I think that has a big influence in our life. So who was the most influential person and what was the greatest lesson they taught you? Well, I mean, the person that really inspired me was Peekaboo Street. Cause she was like the only person that we had really in skiing at that time that was like you know really in the spotlight yeah and i met her in autograph signing in minnesota you were 10 right nine and so like as soon as i met her i was like that's what i want to be really yeah because i mean i skied for fun before that and i mean i trained and all this stuff and i loved ski racing but i never really had a concrete goal until i saw her and then you know it was suddenly an attainable goal um and then you know i ended up being on the Olympic team with her in 2002.
1:30And she said the only thing that, she didn't say much to me, because I mean, I kind of followed her like her shadow. And she was probably pretty annoyed because I was, you know, 16. But she said, you know, I asked her when she was inspecting, I said, what are you looking at? And she said, I'm trying to find the fall line. And I said, well, where is the fall line? She's like, you have to figure that out yourself. It's like an instinctual thing. And so I always thought about that. and it stuck with me. But yeah. You mean when you're inspecting the course? Like you always look at the course and you find your line, right?
2:03And I was like, I'm just like, what are you? I just want to pick her brain because she was my idol. I'm like, what are you doing? She wouldn't really teach you that though. She didn't really want to teach me that. I like, you know, try to force it out of her, but it was a good piece of information nonetheless. When was the first time you beat her? I actually don't think I did because, oh no, I might have beaten her in some of the World Cups that year, but she retired after the 2002 Olympics. So I didn't really get a chance to race against her very much. She went out on top of her game, I guess.
2:34Yeah, definitely above me. Right. Yeah. And she was like, this girl's coming for me, so I might as well get out while I can. Yeah, I mean, she had had similar to me. She had a lot of injuries, and she was just kind of the same thing, like beaten up. Right. What do you think made you such an instinctual, dominant athlete? Where did the mindset come from like needing to or the desire to win all the time at the highest level? I don't know. I'm a really competitive person. And I'm always kind of like I'm like a perpetual one upper. Yeah. So, you know, it's like if I and, you know, I think one of the things that most people said about me is when I started to succeed, they said, well, you know, now she's got this.
3:15She's going to relax and it's not going to happen again. And that's the exact opposite way that I think, you know, I'm like, if I get this, I need to get this. And if I get this, I need to get that. And then just kind of like I always try to get better and better because that's the fun of a challenge, you know. And I think as time went on, too, that I started to hit these, you know, marks of, you know, records. And that then excited me. And, you know, it's just like finding constant motivation in becoming better. Right. Did you ever doubt yourself? There's only one time I doubted myself. I was, I think I was right after the Olympics.
3:49Which one? 2002. I was still young, you know. You were 17 then? 17, 18, and I just, you know, I kind of got demoted from the ski team. I was on, like, the Europa Cup team, which is one level below, and I was kind of crawling my way back. And, yeah, I just kept crashing, and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. And then I just decided to double down on what I was doing. I hired a trainer with money I didn't have. I asked for an advance on my contract, and I spent the whole summer with a new trainer in Monaco, and I got my first podium the next winter. So when you doubted yourself, how did you get out of it, though?
4:25Was it just, let me find people to help me get out of it? I need, like, a reset, you know? Like, because you get stuck in a rut. And it's like, what I'm doing is not working. So if I need to get to the next level, like, what is there that I can change? You can't change everything, obviously, because then you can't figure out what was wrong. But I needed to find something that I could drastically improve on to get better. And fitness is one thing that I had obviously worked hard at, but not hard enough. Really? And so I made that change and it worked. Now when you had all these, you had like what?
4:56I don't know so many crashes and injuries, right? Throughout so many years. A lot, yeah. A couple. I mean you tore your knees like 50 times. I mean everything is crazy. You got plates in your arm and your back. I mean it's nuts. How do you have confidence after a crash and come back and say, well I'm gonna go back and do this course or the next course better, faster, stronger? Short term memory. Really? Yeah. I mean it's part of the job. The concussions I guess help because you forget. You're like, oh wait, I don't even remember that. Shoot. Yeah, you know, it's like, crashing is part of the job description.
5:27So if you're not ready to do that, then you know, you should probably not do that. But for me, you know, I always use it as a learning tool. You know, what did I do wrong? What can I do better? You know, I always analyze my crashes. A lot of people can't watch their crashes because they're like, you know, they don't want to revisit that. It's painful to watch your crashes. Especially when you're screaming. I kind of love it. I was like, what's my style point? Oh my gosh. And every time my coaches, I would crash, they would stop videoing. So like, oh, shoot, you know, they stopped videoing. I'm like, you have to keep videoing.
5:55I want to see the whole thing. And so, yeah, I mean, I just would analyze my crashes, what I do wrong. And, you know, I think for me, you have to push the limits in order to find your limit. And I always like wanted to be right up on the limit. And then obviously you go past it sometimes, which you crash. And, you know, but if you're not pushing yourself that hard and you're never crashing, you're never going to find your limit. That's how I think. But some of these crashes, they would take, what, three to six months to recover, right? Yeah. Yeah. So how do you get to the, do you feel like you could have done it without crashing?
6:31Or do you feel like you'd need to crash? I mean, not for me. That's just kind of how I raced was always 110%. So I think that's the reason why I was able to be as successful as I was and downhill for as long as I was. But that's also the reason why I crashed a lot. So it's kind of a double-edged sword. But I don't know. I wouldn't change it because I think every injury taught me something. You know, I think I became a stronger person, maybe not physically, but, you know, mentally I definitely got a lot stronger. And I think when you go through, you know, those kinds of setbacks, you also have a different perspective, you know, and appreciate what you have so much more.
7:08So every time I crashed or I had injuries, I became more hungry to come back because I realized how much I miss it and how much I love it. And I wouldn't change it. Can you walk me through when you're going down, right before you're about to go off? What's it called? Starting gate. The starting gate. Yeah. Right before you're about to go off, what does that five minutes before look like in your mind? I mean, hopefully it's really pretty empty. Really? Yeah, I mean, because up until that point, you do all the preparation, right? You know, I've analyzed the course. I've visualized it a thousand times in my head.
7:44I've done all the physical preparation I can do. I've warmed up in the morning. I've warmed up right before I'm in the starting gate. And at that moment, that's when you kind of automatize everything. Like everything should be automatic. You should be in the starting gate calm and like ready to go. Because if you're thinking about, you know, certain things that you could have done. You're screwed. Because you have to be so in the moment. You know, when you're racing at 80 miles an hour, you have to be only thinking about what's right here. You know, if you're thinking about this and that and the other thing, then, you know, that's a dangerous recipe.
8:16Do you know what your fastest speed was ever? The fastest I've ever been clocked at was 84. Oh, my gosh. But, you know, I don't know. That's so terrifying, right? The men have gone 100. That's nuts. Yeah, it's fun. You crash on that, you're... It's awesome. How do you survive that? I don't know. Good question. We have like back protectors. I mean, they have airbags now. No way. You didn't have that when you were 17, did you? No, I wish I did. Airbags. Yeah, airbags. And your back protector. And like if you are inverted in any way, it'll... Shut up. Yeah, it's great. That's amazing technology. Yeah, I know.
8:48It's awesome. I really needed that. 20 years. Yeah. Now, you said you were nine when you met your hero, your idol, right? If your nine-year-old self was standing in front of you right now, what would you say in terms of advice to her? I wouldn't say anything. Because, you know, like you can't correct the things you've done in the past. And I think that, you know, again, everything that you experience teaches you something, whether it's good or bad. And so I wouldn't be here if I had done things differently. So I wouldn't go back and say, you know, do something differently. I would maybe just say enjoy the ride.
9:22That's about it. Do you feel like you enjoyed it? Yeah, I did. I mean, I definitely think sometimes I took myself a little too seriously. But that's also part of it. When you want to be the best, you have to give up a lot of things. And you can't always enjoy everything as much as everybody else. But I think it was well worth it. For me, one of the hardest transitions of my life has been from when I was done playing football into what's next in my life. and you've been transitioning for the last few years now. Has it been hard for you or do you feel like you've set your brand up so well that it's been easy to kind of move past the sport in a sense?
10:02I mean, I tried as hard as I could to set myself up, you know, and I had plenty of work and plenty of things to do. But, you know, as you know, it's one day to the next. Your life is completely different no matter how prepared you are. and it definitely took me until probably, yeah, a few months ago. Really? Yeah, COVID was the best thing for me because I actually had time to slow down because what I do, I always overwork. So if there's something going on in my life, no matter what it was, I had skiing, I could always really focus on skiing and kind of push the other stuff out. And so work is just a great way to bandaid everything as well.
10:46And so with COVID, I had to slow down, had to like think about things, like think about retirement, which was horrible. When did you officially retire? February 2019. Okay. The year before COVID. So almost two and a half years. Yeah. So it took me, I mean, the year after, you know, before COVID, it was, yeah, it was really hard. And then COVID was like, okay, slow down, think about things, process things. and now I'm finally at like a really good place where I'm not, you know, working to, you know, forget that I used to ski race. Really? Yeah. It's weird, huh? Kind of weird, right? It's really weird.
11:21Now, when your last race was, was that in February then? Yeah. Your last race? Uh-huh. When was the last like big medal that you won? Because didn't you have like - My last race. That was it. Didn't you have a big crash like five days before or something? Or - Like two days before. Two days before. You had a big crash. Yeah. Now, Brad Slater asked me, asked you this question. Because it was a big crash. This was 2019, huh? Yeah. How did you decide to be like, okay, I'm going to come back after demolishing your body? I mean, there's really no other option. Not race. Go big or go home. I didn't want to go home.
11:57Really? Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I've always been the person that if I can walk, like if I can be out there, I will be out there. you know unless you have to like the doctor physically stops me you know i'm or you can't walk right like i'm i'm gonna be out there i mean i was pretty close to like you know not being able to walk at that point because i was i had torn my lcl so i was racing with no lcl i had braces on both knees shut up no i was it was definitely i felt like i was being held together by duct tape okay and so like my last race was literally i was like well this is it this meant this all i got so I'm just going to lay everything on the table and see what happens.
12:37And it was hard because I didn't want to crash in my last race. There's no do-overs. You knew this was going to be your last race. Oh, yeah. You're like, I'm done after this. My body is falling apart. Literally. And so, you know, it was like, there's no do-overs. Is this your last chance? And, yeah, I just literally threw down and gave it everything I had, and, you know, third place. It's crushing it. So how did you get your mind right, though? Like, I know in your body, you're like, okay, I'm just going to huff it up and just make it happen. But how did you get your mind right? Well, I actually talked to my coach that I grew up with in Minnesota the night before my race.
13:12And he's like, what is 60 seconds in your whole life? Wow. Like, what is 60 seconds? I'm like, wow, it's a really good perspective. I'm like, it's nothing. It's like, exactly. It's nothing. So who cares? Just go. I'm like, all right. Yeah. I mean, that was my mindset anyways. But it just kind of like put everything in perspective in that moment. And he made a great point. He was 96 years old, and he made a great point. Wow. That's a great point. Isn't it crazy that, I mean, how many Olympics did you do? Three? Four. Four Olympics. Yeah. That's nuts. Just Miss Sochi. Only four times the Olympics.
13:45Isn't it crazy that so many athletes, I'm sure you know as well, train decades for 60 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. It's nuts. And especially, you know, qualifying, too. You have a cold. You're a track and field athlete. your competition is 60 seconds, 45 seconds, and you're a little bit off, and you're done. Yeah, it's crazy. A decade, a few decades of your life. Over. Luckily you never had to deal with that because you won a bunch of medals, but how do you think people could deal with that mindset, that mentality of I gave my whole life to something, whether it's a relationship, a career, a project, whatever, a business, and it doesn't work out.
14:24How do we bounce back from that? I mean, it's hard. I think everyone has their own process. I always felt like if I worked hard enough, things would turn around. Like whenever I had a really bad moment, I said, you know, the good guy is not going to finish last. You know, I'm going to come back. I just have to double down, you know, reinvest everything in myself and come back. You know, sometimes you just need a little bit of a reset. Sometimes, you know, you need to take a break and come back to it. Sometimes, you know, it's more of just a mind over matter. There's just a lot of different ways to get from point A to point B.
14:54But I think the biggest thing is just believing in yourself, which can be very difficult to do, obviously, especially if you have like multiple setbacks in a row. But that's why I always journal. Really? You know, I did a lot of journaling from like a general day to day to when I was racing and training. I would write everything down. Really? Especially when things are going well. Because everyone thinks when things are going well, like this is great, it's so easy. And they forget about what they're doing. And then all of a sudden one day things aren't going well. like how do i get back you know so it's good to keep like i always kept notes of everything like what runs felt good what skis felt good what foods felt good and then i always had a reference point to go back to was that daily or is that just most days you were no daily every day i have like i have stacks of books yeah when did you start probably 2005 so you were what like 21 or 23 or something yeah okay so for like when i started 14 years yeah when i started 14 years you were like journaling consistently and i also i on and off i journaled my workouts because i that got a little bit excessive it was like there's only so much journaling one can do but um i occasionally did do my workouts as well but was it more like here's what i did here's the feeling i had here's what worked what didn't work though yeah like every run you know i i would write down you know i tried a different line it didn't work i felt good like this boot felt good you know this setup I felt good.
16:20This felt bad. I tried to do this line. It didn't work. As much detail as I can give myself, I felt like the better because it's only helping me. Where do you think you would have been if you never journaled? I think I would have lost my way a couple times because looking back definitely gave me confidence. And thinking about remembering how it felt to have a good run and what I was doing in that moment. And, you know, my own words helped me visualize that, which then translated into me finding my way again. So, you know, I don't know. I feel like. So you would read back your journals. Yeah. Okay.
16:59Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. You talked about believing yourself. How did you learn to believe in yourself consistently with all the setbacks, though? How do you stay in belief when it's like, okay, crash, failure, didn't make the Olympics here, whatever. I'm going through personal struggles in my life. Whatever it might be. How do you stay in belief with yourself? I kind of always went back to, especially when I had multiple injuries, I always went back to, why am I doing this? I'm doing it because I love it. I'm passionate about it. And even if I have setbacks, I still am happy every time in the starting gate.
17:31So it's kind of like always going back to the root of why I'm there. Yes, I love winning, and that's always what I wanted to do. There's no response about that. Yeah, but, you know, at the end of the day, when I'm putting myself through everything that I did, you know, all the rehabs and everything, I always remembered I loved it. And I wanted to go fast again. Whether I won or lost, I wanted to go fast again. So kind of keeping things in perspective. Which, again, is like, you know, one of the reasons why I think being injured, you know, not so many times, but, you know, having injuries is just a good way to have a different perspective on things.
18:06Yeah, and reflect and see, do I still love this or not? Do I want to keep going? Yeah. And it sounded like you did so many times. How important was mental health for you, you know, throughout your entire career? Because it wasn't really talked about until like the last five years, mental health and the importance of self-care and taking care of your mindset. How important was that for you? Did you ever feel like you lost it at times or overwhelmed or stressed or depressed at certain points? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I definitely struggled with depression for a long time. And I, you know, was vocal about it not until 2012, maybe.
18:38um and at that time like you know no one was talking about it i hadn't told my parents like i didn't tell anybody and then i just was like this is something i really need to do and it definitely helped me kind of process everything and like feel more comfortable about it um but i mean you know if being on the road is really hard you know you're always in a hotel room i'm always by myself and you know a lot of times you know people just see the athletes like on the podium and happy and like in the media. But, you know, when the cameras go off, you go back to an empty hotel room and it can be really, really hard.
19:11Again, especially because you're doing it for so long, you know, and at the end of my career, thankfully I got my dog Lucy. So she was like my companion and always was with me and definitely helped a lot. But it's like the loneliness really gets to you. It is lonely. If you're training that hard for something, I mean, your team is there and I'm sure your family are there, but at certain points, you're just alone in your thoughts. It's isolating. It's very isolating. Yeah. There's not many people that can probably relate to you. Not really. You have a couple peers. There's a couple other athletes that you can talk to and kind of understand your coach maybe, but.
19:45Then also, you know, if you want to talk to somebody about it, they're not really going to have any sympathy for you. Right. Because you're doing well. Because you're making money. Why are you complaining about something? So, you know, success doesn't equal happiness. I mean, everyone says that. Like, money doesn't equal happiness. success is an equal happiness you have to find that you know on your own but um yeah it's just because you're successful doesn't mean you're happy and there are definitely a lot of times where i was not happy really yeah do you feel like you're happy now yeah i'm actually the happiest i've ever been i love that you do have a great energy about you right now not that i knew you before but you have a great energy right about you right now what brings you the most joy in your life i think just waking up every day and being excited about you know something new new challenges new experiences meeting new people i think you know i was so focused on skiing that i had you know blinders on and i didn't see you know a lot that was around me and i mean you have to do that if you want to you know be successful but um i just i get so excited every day because i'm like what am i going to do today you know am i going to wake surfing am i going to mountain biking you know all these things that a i haven't been able to do because of my sport and like b i just have never experienced.
20:59So I just, I'm excited. It's a very exciting time. I'm very, very happy. So it sounds like it only took you two years to kind of transition from the sport to feeling at peace about moving past it now, right? Yeah. Kind of letting it go. That's pretty quick though. Most athletes hold on to a sense of loneliness or depression or the glory days. I mean, don't get me wrong. I miss it. And it's, it's easier in the summer because no one's racing, you know, like ask me again in february when the olympics are going oh man yeah and this this past winter was the world championships in cortina which is literally one of my favorite places and i was commentating for mbc oh how is that watching and commentating i commented for the yeah i could only do a couple races and i i preferred to only do i preferred the men because all right you know it's you know like i can beat these girls right now exactly i don't put myself in position um but you know it it's like i process it as a death you know like a death you know like it's gone it's never coming back because the second you think oh well maybe i could do a comeback it'll really mess with your mind how important has rituals been in your life you do a lot of rituals beyond journaling to when you said this is like a death have you ever like put your skis in a coffin and buried it to like allow you to process or something like that yeah i actually did the opposite.
22:18I always had like my Olympic medals in my sock drawer. I never had them out. Like I never, I mean, I had like a nice trophy case for my other, other, you know, trophies, but I never, you probably had a whole room for all your trophies. I mean, so many of them. I had a nice display case in Colorado, but now I moved to Utah. So I don't have, literally everything is in storage, but you got your Olympic medals. So my Olympic medals, I, for the first time, like got my gold medal framed and I got all my world championship medals framed and it was like this is a big moment of course and it kind of was like this is what i did you know what i mean it's not what you're doing right oh because it was kind of like it's put away now you know what i mean yeah right there's a lot to celebrate but my heart hurts right gosh so i was like it was an interesting moment to do that um it seems weird and you know slightly vain but i just felt like it was like this is what i did and it's done now and i can look back I can be happy about what I did, but it's not what I do.
23:16And it's not who I am, certainly. Who are you? I'm just a nice girl from Minnesota. You're from the Twin Cities, right? Yeah. Or a small town near there? Yeah. I'm from Minneapolis. I played football in Marshall, Minnesota for a season. Oh, no way. And I played in the Metrodome like four or five times. Metrodome. Yeah, it was the old school. Crazy. The AstroTurf. Until I collapsed. Oh, man, I still have like TurfTurf from the AstroTurf, the Metrodome. Yeah. It was a good time. I was in Minnesota for three months. I came from my freshman year to play football at Southwest Minnesota State. And I left after the winter.
23:49I was just like underground tunnels to get a classroom. I was like, this is nuts. Remember the first day I went to training camp in football in the summer. It must have been in August. I remember stepping on the field. And literally, I've never seen this in my life. The field moved with me every step. Millions of mosquitoes moving with me to the next step. I was like, what am I doing? For weeks, I'm just swatting mosquitoes. Minnesota, it's, mosquito is a state bird. It's crazy. Yeah, it's gross. It's probably not as bad in the Twin Cities, but like in the farmland, it was nuts. Yeah. I mean, actually, when I grew up racing, it would be so cold sometimes, they wouldn't let us take off our jacket and pants.
24:25We would have to race with everything that we had on. It was like, my dad would have like the car sitting like ready, warmed up. It would literally go straight through the finish and into the car. I'm curious about mental health now. Because you talked about when you were lonely and kind of had some depression during the traveling time. What is it like now that you've hung up the awards, that you've gone through different challenges in your personal life, and I'm sure you're having career stuff up and down? What are you doing to stay mentally strong post-career? I mean, similar things. I started working with a new psychologist, which was really good.
25:00He kind of focused on more like athletes and had worked with other athletes that have retired, which was, I think, really helpful. What's his name? Dr. Armando. Dr. Armando. Yeah, he's awesome. And again, we're with a lot of athletes. And he kind of also had a different technique of like processing things, which is really good. What was the technique? It's called brain spotting. Okay. But it's also, it's kind of hard to explain. But basically, you sit there and you really focus on the thing that really makes you emotional, whatever that is, like retirement or, you know, whatever. and your brain has to actually like process it to be able to like unload it.
25:42Otherwise, it's just going to sit there because he has a theory that, you know, you're like your body keeps score. Absolutely. So any trauma. It's a great book called The Body Keeps the Score. Oh, really? It's amazing. Yeah. Maybe he can take it from there. I don't know. It's called The Body Keeps the Score. Okay. But it's true. Physical, emotional trauma. It's like stored in the body until you process and heal it. But he didn't say that I don't store my trauma from my crashes, which I. You don't. No, I don't. You don't physically or emotionally? Both. I mean, physically I do, obviously. Right, right.
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26:08But you don't keep it emotionally. No, I don't know. How'd you do that? I don't know. Short-term memory? Short-term memory. Concussions. Well, I always watch my video. I always, like, I processed it. I was like, this is what I did. This is what I need to do better. And I just moved on. The more you, like, you don't address it, the more it becomes a problem. Absolutely. So, yeah. So he was, like, one of the best things that happened to me. Brain spotting. Yeah. So you think about the moment of sadness or pain or frustration or. Yeah, like the emotional trauma or whatever it is that is really causing you anxiety or emotional.
26:44Frustration or sadness, right? So you think about it. How long do you think about it for? What's the process then? It could be a couple hours. He usually comes to my house for a few days. We have good sessions and kind of work when we can. It's really different, but it's really great. and yeah, he's awesome. You should look him up. I'm going to check him out. Yeah. So what happens at the end of the 30 to 60 minutes when you're thinking about, are you supposed to put your attention on the feeling, on the event? Everything. Like visualizing what happened, how you feel. And like the more you think about it, it's weird.
27:24I start, you know, with something that's emotional and it's very triggering. And then by the end, it becomes less triggering and less triggering. and then by the end it's like, okay. You let it go. Yeah. It's when we resist something where it continues to kind of fester and be suppressed inside of us, but the more we actually pay attention to it and go through different scenarios and process it, then we can let it go. It's not as scary anymore. Right. So brain spotting, what's another strategy you've used to help? Surrounding myself with people that really support me and for me who I am, like my sister and my family and really good friends.
28:01I have a very small group of friends. You know, I mean, I travel all the time. I have a crazy lifestyle. But I have really, like, a couple of friends that I grew up with in Minnesota since I was seven years old. And, like, we're solid. And it's just, you know, spending time with those quality people, allowing yourself to be you, and not having, you know, any fear of judgment. I think that really helps, you know, I don't know, be yourself and then be around other people is easier. Did you feel the fear of judgment when you were competing ever? Not really. I think when I was competing, I had the most confidence.
28:39Right. You know, like I felt like on any given day, if I was healthy, I could win. It was a different, totally different than what I am in like real life. Really? Yeah. Kind of like the exact opposite. In competing mode, you were super confident. Yeah. You're talking about, but then you walk off. I kind of like harnessed all of my confidence that I ever had and I put it right in the scheme. Okay, but you're saying you weren't as confident in your normal life outside of computing? No, not really. Yeah. What did that look like? I'm more shy. Like, I'm not really... I feel like I'm more... Right now, this is like media mode.
29:09Yeah, yeah. You know, and which is still me, but I'm just... I don't know. It's different when I'm at home or like I'm at a dinner or I'm at a function. I'm not the person that's like overly talking to people. You know, I'm like, I hang back and wait for someone to come to me. Interesting. I don't know. Well, the next time I'm on an event with you, I'll make sure to come up to you. I'll give you a hug. I'm not into me. I swear. I'm not trying to be my... Some people think that I'm just... They don't want to come say hi. I'm not trying to be negative. I just shy in my corner. Do you feel like you've been able to translate that confidence into your life now?
29:48Or do you feel like there are more times where you're... It took me a while. Really? But yeah, I feel like finally I've kind of spread out the confidence. Really? So it's not, you know, solely in one place, but it's like, you know, sprinkled everywhere. What do you do on a daily basis to build confidence? Honestly, I think working out is one of the best things that's happened to me. Yeah. I thought for a while, you know, I don't want to work out. I'm retired. Really? I want to, you know, enjoy it because I've been working out my entire life. And I stopped working out. I'm like, wow, I really feel like, you know, like I felt miserable.
30:19And then I got back into it. And the more I did it, the better I felt. and so now it's like I prioritize working out because it makes me feel so much better and I like working out first thing in the morning because then it sets my day up for success and I feel confident and you know better and clear-minded and it's just it's awesome it's the greatest feeling ever yeah and when you can look yourself in the mirror completely make it strip down and be like at least I'm proud of the process maybe I'm not proud of the result right now but I'm proud of like showing up for myself today that feels good well I feel like no matter how you look, as long as you're putting your best effort forward.
30:56When I work out six days a week, and the scale says something other than what I feel like I put in, I mean, sometimes it still bothers me. I feel like that's not a testament to the effort that I felt like I gave and also how that made me feel from a confidence perspective. And so you always got to keep that in mind. It's really more about, I don't know, I feel like it's more about mental. Absolutely. Mental confidence than physical competence. What would you say are the non-negotiables? You've been living this life for a while now at a top level. 20 plus years you've been competing and now transitioning.
31:32What would you say are the non-negotiables, three to five things that have helped you become successful and that will help you to continue to be successful? If you had three to five habits or things that you must do, non-negotiable in your life to support your success, what would those be? I mean, work ethic as general, but at the same time you know if you want to succeed at anything that you're doing in life you know you you have to be willing to put in the work yeah you know um and make those sacrifices i honestly feel that the most successful people aren't the most talented they're not the smartest um they're the people that are willing to go the extra mile that the other people are not um what else i think you know rituals are habits that you know help you you know get to the place where you can work hard.
32:16So whether that's working out or again, journaling or going on a walk or, you know, meeting your friend once a week or whatever it is, you know, finding habits like healthy habits like that, that, you know, put you in a mental place that allows you to then work harder and again, then be more successful. And then surround yourself by people that believe in the same things that you do. So that will help, you know, facilitate your success and not bring you down you know um i think it is oftentimes really hard to actually find people that want you to succeed really i think um why is that you think that's just human nature i think jealous or yeah i mean and honestly i haven't experienced that a lot but sometimes it like creeps up on you and you're like wow you really didn't want me to succeed really yeah so it's just kind of like people you've hired on your team or friends or peers my internal teams were tight you know they've with me since I was 16.
33:13I'm a very loyal person. Like we're a very tight knit group and, and, uh, and I like to keep it that way. But yeah, there's, you know, there's external people coming in that, you know, pretend to be one thing and they're not. And so it's good to make sure you keep, keep yourself surrounded by, by people that want to see you succeed and will help you get there. And, you know, if you have to make a sacrifice that they're going to pick up the slack for you, you know, cause you, you can't do everything alone. You know, that's the other thing. Right. What were your coaches and your team like when you were competing?
33:43Do you think you could have been as successful on your own or without the team? No, you need a team. You absolutely need a team. And so it goes with everything that you're doing, whether it's in business or sports or whatever, you know, you can't do everything by yourself. So surround yourself by people that will help you. And, you know, my coaches were amazing. I had the best ski technician in the world, Heinz. He literally was just as invested in my success as I was. I mean, if I, when I won, he would cry you know that's beautiful it was great and you know did you cry too i cried because he was crying it was like a thing i'm like he's why you're crying you're making me cry um and you know he would he was so nervous when i crashed and you know like it just feels really good to know that someone's that invested in what you're doing and they're putting just as much effort into what they're doing to make you succeed as you are yeah it's just like me working in the gym You know, he's in the ski room tuning my skis for hours on end.
34:37And a lot of people don't know that about ski racing. It's your equipment is a huge part of your success. So if I didn't have him, if I didn't have my coaches, I didn't have my physical therapist, Lindsay Winninger, who helped me get back from all my injuries. You know, if I didn't have like all those people, I couldn't do what I did. Right. So. Team is everything. What was the greatest lesson your coach taught you? It was my coach from Minnesota, the 96-year-old. He said, I think it was like 10 or 11, he said, I'm fast the way I am, so don't change it. So a lot of people at that time in my career tried to change my technique.
35:16And even my dad was like, you know, she's not going to succeed if she stays like this. And he's like, no, this is her natural talent. Stay with what you have. Don't try to be someone else. You know, you're fast the way you are. And so I kind of, you know, morphed that into life as well. You know, it's like you are who you are and that's what makes you special. So stick with it. That's a good lesson. Right? It's a beautiful lesson. And how do you deal now and how did you deal with negative thoughts? Did they fester for a while? Did you have a technique that allowed you to get out of it into more positivity?
35:47What did you do? I mean, I think journaling helped, you know. Honestly, skiing was the best outlet for me. It's therapy, huh? Yeah. And which was why it was so hard to retire, you know. Which is why then, you know, COVID sitting there with your thoughts, not ideal, but ended up being great. Yeah, I mean, I think social media was at times really difficult, you know, because other people would say negative things about me and that would kind of creep in. And I wouldn't necessarily always believe it, but it's still kind of, it's like there. It's like a little mosquito and it's like, people actually think that about me, you know, and it kind of adds a little bit of doubt in there.
36:26and it's not always the easiest to get rid of those negative thoughts but I try to focus on again like what makes me happy why am I doing this I'm not doing it for other people I'm doing it for myself yeah and you know everyone's going to judge you everyone's going to there's always going to be people that say bad things about you but you know when the lights are off and you go to bed you know it's just you and are you happy with yourself and I think that's the ultimate question if you can and be happy with that, then you're good. Who cares when he lost things? Amen to that. There's a great speech by Matthew McConaughey, where he talks about his hero is 10 years away from him.
37:03He's always chasing his hero when he won the Oscar, I think it was. He said, I'm always chasing my hero who's 10 years away from me. We've talked about your 10 year old self. You've had a couple of years of transition now. I'm curious in 10 years from now, where do you see yourself being and what advice do you wish your 10 year old, self would give you right now? I have no idea where we'll be in 10 years. Like, I don't know where we'll be in 10 days. I know, it's crazy. I, and I, I really like not knowing it. You know, I used to really try to, I'm a planner and I like organizing and like knowing what's going to happen and like planning as far as I can.
37:39You're always scheduled. You got a badge, you got training. Yeah. It's always a schedule. Um, and I kind of really like not having as like, you know, um, as tight of a schedule as I used to have. And so I don't know. I have no idea. I mean, hopefully I'll have kids and, you know, 10 years is a long time, you know, I'm 36 and that's, you know, I don't know, but I know that I have a lot more to do and, and that's really exciting. Um, what do you think advice you would want to hear from your 10, your 46 year old self? I think the same as, you know, when you asked me, what would I tell my 10 year old or 16 year old self?
38:12I wouldn't say anything because I have to have those experiences and I'm excited for them. You know, good or bad, I think, you know, it's just a part of the journey. And so far it's been great. So I feel like... Just keep it one day at a time. Keep it one day at a time. Keep it simple. And when do you feel the most loved when you're doing what? Hang out with my dogs. Yeah, they love me no matter what. That's the best feeling ever. Isn't that incredible? That's why I have three. I'm the crazy dog lady. Oh my God. It's not crazy. Well, I have one cat. So I'm the crazy cat dude. Oh, yes. That's where I drop mine.
38:43Because I travel so much. I travel so much. And cut. She's a good cat. She's just relaxed. She's like a little dog. She like lays next to me. She just like purrs on me. I think I'm scarred from my mom's cats. They're traumatizing. Crazy cats. No, you need a chill cat. You need a cat that's like a dog. That's like place fetch. Yeah. No, no, no. No. Yeah. So my dogs are the best. Like nothing like, well, you know, having a Ben and Jerry's. Oh. My three dogs. Watching Law and Order. Pizza. Ideal. Oh my gosh. Yeah. That's when I feel the best. What is something about yourself that you're most proud of that most people don't know about?
39:16I don't know. I feel like everyone knows everything about me. Sometimes way too much. That I'm most proud of. I don't know. I'm most proud of my family. Just like, you know, I think I'm really lucky to have siblings that are, you know, as great as they are. And, you know, I'm really proud of, you know, where everyone's, how far everyone's gone. and I guess that has something to do with me, but at the same time, I don't know, I feel like we're all units, so I'm proud of them. Beautiful, yeah. What about your biggest fear right now? I mean, I had a lot more of them a couple months ago, but I feel like...
39:54What were they a couple months ago? Well, you know, I hadn't really processed, like, you know, retirement. So I guess now I'm, I don't know, I'm just kind of happy not knowing what's going to happen, you know, where I was a little bit nervous, you know, what was going to happen before, like, you know, where's my career going, you know what what's life what's gonna you know just because you know as much as i have things planned nothing's really planned right so i don't know and your fears now i don't know i kind of it's i guess it's similar to skiing like i don't really i try not to think about any like i don't i never had fear when i was skiing and i think i'm finally in a place where i am like very present in the moment that's beautiful not thinking about you know what could go wrong i'm thinking about what opportunities are there that's beautiful and what is the question you wish more people would ask you but they don't ask you how are you doing how are you doing yeah i'm great thank you how are you people don't ask you that enough like in a general way like yeah you know it's like how are you feeling like i don't know people it's like there's greetings we're like hey what's up you know how's it going but it's like actually how are you feeling like are you happy you know what i mean like i have a few people that say that and those are my friends not many people ask you how you're feeling Again, next time I'm at an event and you're by yourself, I know what to do.
41:07I know what to ask you. I'm coming up to you. I'm going to ask you how you're feeling. I'm pretty simple. Yeah. I think those are really important things. Who is the person in your family that has taught you the biggest lesson? I'm sure they've all taught you something, but what's a lesson that really stands out? I mean, everyone's taught me something. I think, you know, my grandfather and my dad taught me, you know, about toughness and, you know, what it really means to, you know, sacrifice and work hard. And I think those are incredible traits that, you know, not a lot of people have. And like, I have a really good understanding of what it means to sacrifice because they had such a great example for me.
41:44But I mean, I think my sister, Karin, really kind of has been, she's just helped me be like a person. A human being. Yeah. I'm like, that's been great. Not the athlete and not the competitor or the personality. Right, and that's the one thing I love about my family, which is why I talk about them so much, is because I'm always me. So it doesn't matter what I do, I'm always going to be me, and they always treat me like that. It's just kind of nice to always have that to go back to. What was that like coming from such a small, I guess, Midwest town, or I guess Northwest town, but I think of Minnesota as a Midwest town.
42:19Midwest, yeah, yeah. I'm from Ohio, so I think of it as all. Ohio. Exactly. Oh, yeah. We had little bunny hills that I'd ski sometimes when I was a kid. What was it like transitioning from small town, you know, Midwest values into the spotlight and into the scene and into everything that comes with that? How did you stay grounded? I think there are moments where I kind of like, you know, especially when I was like 18, 19, where I didn't really 20 and kind of got into the hype a little bit. You did get into it a little bit. and then you know my family was like this isn't you yeah like what are you doing just because you went to two olympics doesn't mean anything special um and so again like you know family kind of always has been the equalizer and i always go back to wisconsin and see my relatives and it's like and we just had like a big celebration for my grandma's 90th birthday and you know like everything's the same we're in the garage celebrating you know playing cornhole wake surfing exactly right definitely cornhole yeah s'mores that's amazing the best yeah so it's just you know that's normal for me and so i don't ever get i don't know i don't that's you don't let hollywood take over yeah that's something else yeah it's beautiful sounds like a good life this is a question i ask people uh towards the end of the interviews it's called the three truths So this sounds really intimidating.
43:44I'm scared. So it's a hypothetical question. I'd like you to imagine. I've had you imagine your childhood, your older self. I'd like you to imagine that many years away from now, it's your last day on earth and you get to live and accomplish and do everything you want to do. All the ups and downs and the beauty of life. You get to live as old as you want to be, but then eventually it's got to be your last day. Hypothetical. Okay. So it's your last day. Last day. You've accomplished everything. Yeah. But for whatever reason, all of the words that you've said, all the content, this interview, your books, anything you create goes away, goes to the next place.
44:18So no one has access to your information anymore. Okay. So you're a blank slate. Blank slate. No one's got your message to the world. If you could leave three lessons behind, and this is all we would have to remember you by. Three lessons. Wow, this is really intense. You know, it's called the school of greatness, Lindsay. It's not school of average. Oh, wow. If you had three lessons you could leave behind, I call it three truths. Yeah. Based on what's in your heart right now, what would be those three truths? I don't know. Always stay true to yourself.
44:49Never give up on your dreams, which is cheesy, but very true. And I don't know. Third one. I don't know. I feel like maybe you can't make anyone else happy. You can only make yourself happy. That's so true. That's a good one. You can't make anyone else happy. Yeah. Did you have to learn that the hard way? Yes, I did. Really? Yep, many times. Yep. I cannot make anyone else happy no matter what I do or how hard I try. So I can only make myself happy. And I can make someone else happier, but I can't make someone happy. I think I saw Will Smith share a quote about this recently. He was like, happiness, I think he was talking about his wife, happiness is her responsibility.
45:34Yeah. I can contribute to the happiness. I've seen that one. But it's not my responsibility to make someone happy. Yes, exactly. It's my responsibility to make me happy. Theirs to make them. Yeah, which seems like really kind of narcissistic in a way. But it's true because if you don't know who you are and you don't know what makes you happy, how are you supposed to make someone else happy? It's like you have to focus on yourself. And if everyone focuses on making themselves happy, we'll be a lot better. I feel like up until recently, I have been in the pattern my entire life of wanting to please and make others happy.
46:08Yeah. Especially like intimate relationships and close dynamics. And it hasn't been until up until recently when I started to really not abandon myself in those settings, make sure I stand up for what I want, say what I need to say, and not just give in and do something to make someone else happy. Yeah. Because I've done that my entire life up until recently. And I tell you what, it's exhausting trying to live that way. It's very exhausting. It's exhausting, right, Lindsay? Very exhausting. What made you realize that that's one of your truths? When did you realize, like, okay, this is... I mean, trial and error.
46:45Yeah. Do you feel like you were that way in multiple? You get a lot of the lesson the hard way. Do you feel like you were like that with family or intimate relationships and business? With a lot of things. Really? I think, you know, personal stuff, but also, like, you know, with media stuff. I had to learn to say no. I can't please everybody. I can't do everything that everybody wants me to do. I can't physically sign every autograph, even though it kills me when I see little kids. And I'm like, I literally physically have to go to the start right now. I can't. I literally have to raise. I literally cannot sign your autograph.
47:17That's tough. And that's really hard, but that's the reality. And I can't live my life upset that I didn't do something or I didn't make somebody happy or one person doesn't like me or, you know what I mean? You can't live your life that way. And, you know, sometimes it really ate at me. Really? Yeah, but now it's like I can only do what I can do. Right. You know, I can't do more than that. And I can't make other people happy, again, to the point. Right. How have you learned how to disappoint people and be okay with it? Because I feel like I'm going to need to learn how to just be comfortable.
47:51If I'm not disappointed in myself, like if I can, again, turn the lights off, go to sleep on myself and say, I did the best I could today, then that's what it is. What if you disappoint millions of people? How do you feel? I mean, it sucks. Right. But that's, either you made a mistake and you've got to live with it and just own it, or, you know, people just don't like you. Right. But if, you know, if that's, if it's like something that you really believe in, then that's what it is. Yeah. You know, I mean, you can't change who you are. You can't change what you think or, you know what I mean? It's like some people, no matter how polarizing, have opinions.
48:25And as long as that's what you believe and you're true to it, then that's who am I to judge someone else's opinion? That's the thing. I never judge anyone else. No matter what it is, whatever you believe, that's you. I'm not going to criticize that. What would you say has been the biggest emotional challenge for you to overcome in your life? You talked about depression and mental health. Is it people pleasing? Is it staying true to yourself emotionally? Is it trusting yourself? What's been the biggest emotional challenge? I think people-pleasing. Really? Yeah. You've been like me your entire life, too?
49:01Yeah, like working on myself. Yeah, because I'm selfish when it comes to skiing because you have to be focused on yourself in order to make gains and to be in that position. But I was very selfless when it came to other people around me and wanting them to be happy. And that takes a lot of energy. And it's very draining. Exhausting. Exhausting. Why do you think people live in that way, in that space? Why do you think me and you have done that and others tend to do that? I think that's a question for Dr. Mondo. There we go. I'm going to call him after this. What is the answer to this question? You know, I don't know.
49:41I've always been like that. I'm the oldest of five. I always try to take care of my siblings. I change all their diapers. is like, you know, I just, I help when I can. I, you know, try to make everybody happy. And I don't know, that's - So tough. Something you gotta ask Dr. Vanga. I'll ask it. Ask some psychologist because that's a deep question I don't have the answer for. I will ask him.
50:06I've got one final question for you and a statement. Before I share the statement and ask the question, I want people to follow you because I love your content over on social media. So check out LindseyVaughn with two N's around social media. You got LindseyVaughn.com as well, right? I think so. Or what's your website? I don't really use a.com anymore. Your website? Yeah. It's there. Gotcha. But social media is your main thing. Is it Instagram or Twitter or Facebook? Which one do you use most? Probably Instagram the most. But yeah, all those platforms. I'm not really on TikTok. We've got to get you on there.
50:37I feel like I'm too old. I don't know. I'm 38 and I'm on TikTok. Oh, come on. The generation is getting older, you know? Yeah. Remember when Facebook was just for college kids? There's so many platforms. It's nuts. It's really overwhelming. But you've got a great team, don't you? I do it all myself. Oh, you've got to build your team. Everything I do. Just like you had in sports. That's not me. That's not authentic. This is me. Everything that's on there, that's all me. Of course, but you're going to have teams support you. I don't trust anybody. So why don't they mess it up? Everything on the slopes is all you, but you had a team to support you with the tune of skis and doing this and making your schedules good.
51:13Yeah, but would I have my team come in here and do an interview for me? No, so you - I got you there. So you can still post your content and take the content you want to do and make sure they support you in other ways. That's actually an extra step. It's actually an extra step. Okay. It's easier for me to post it than to send it to somebody. I get it. You know what I mean? I get it. It's like, also, it's like, what's the point? I say what I want to say. It's very authentic. Yeah. It's very authentic. Very inspiring. It's just me. If you want to follow me, great. If not, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there.
51:43There's millions of people. It's great. And you've got a book coming out next year, early next year, which I'm excited to share out as well. So be on the lookout for that. People can pre-order it hopefully soon. I don't know if they can pre-order it now. I don't think they can now. In a few months, I think they'll be able to. But pretty soon, yeah. It's called Rise. It's called Rise. It's going to be inspiring about all these lessons and more. Yes. I really should have talked to you before I wrote the book. But I'm assuming you're sharing a lot of these insights and more philosophies and stories and lessons, right?
52:11Yeah, it's kind of like all of the things that I've experienced in my life and what it taught me and like how I overcame it and, you know, like more of the mental side of it. And that's cool. It's meant to be, you know, inspiring because, you know, we all face obstacles and, you know, we all have to overcome certain things. And so, yeah, my life as a roller coaster written down. Beautiful, beautiful. Exciting. So when that comes out, make sure you guys preorder that. But my statement, Lindsay, is I want to acknowledge you for a moment for the incredible life you've had up until now, for the ups and downs and for being so mentally and emotionally off to continue to show up for your dreams, even when you had so many injuries.
52:51I've been surgeries and injuries myself, and I know how hard it is sometimes to come back after the first time. But then after 30 times, you to keep showing up for your dreams and for your heart is so beautiful and inspiring. and also for you to know when it's time to transition. I think it's inspiring as well, even if you didn't maybe want to, but showing up authentically where you're at now, healing in the process of the transition, being a positive force for your fans, your followers and your family, which is most important. It's really inspiring to meet you, to connect with you and to hear about these stories and kind of know more about your life.
53:26So I acknowledge you for all this that you've created and accomplished and I'm excited to see what you create moving forward. And when I'm at an event that you're at, I know exactly what I'm going to do. Come on right up. I'm nice. I'm going to ask you, how are you feeling? How are you feeling? Thank you. Yes, that would be great. Yes. I look forward to it. I'm very excited. My final question, what is your definition of greatness? My definition of greatness is like overcoming all obstacles. I mean, I think the greatness isn't just, you know, a perfect run, a perfect day. You know, it's when you're at your absolute limit and, you know, you're scratching and clawing to get to the finish and you know you make it and you push yourself past where you you know think you could ever go um because you know like tom brady you know his best he always has like his best performance isn't you know winning this or that super bowl there's like certain moments where he felt like he overcame a lot and those are those are like really great moments and um and again to each his own so not everyone has the same experience and everyone's greatness is different but yeah beautiful were you in greatness code also yes i was so great that's right because i remember so many greatness well i remember that that story from that of tom brady talking about that i was like oh i think you were in that too yeah it's great yeah i always watch stuff like that because i think it's so cool yeah it's really cool to see and hear and you know again everyone has their own experiences and it's interesting to learn from that yeah yeah i think it's all very inspirational love it lindsey vaughn thank you for being here appreciate it I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness.
54:58Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links. And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter.
55:37And now it's time to go out there and do something great.
From the publisher
Lindsey Vonn reveals the hidden cost of becoming the greatest downhill skier of all time: devastating loneliness, crippling depression, and an exhausting pattern of people-pleasing that nearly broke her.
You've probably felt that same pressure to make everyone else happy while your own needs get pushed aside, or wondered how to come back after life knocks you down repeatedly. She shares the exact mental shifts that helped her process trauma without storing it in her body, the journaling practice that kept her grounded through 20 years of crashes and comebacks, and why working on yourself isn't selfish.
You'll learn how to stop abandoning yourself in relationships and career decisions, and discover that your greatest moments come not from perfect performances, but from pushing past your absolute limits when everything seems impossible.
Lindsey’s books:
In this episode you will:
- Discover how to turn every crash and failure into fuel for your next breakthrough instead of emotional baggage
- Learn the brain spotting technique that releases years of stored trauma in a single session
- Break through the exhausting pattern of people-pleasing that drains your energy and authenticity
- Master the art of staying completely present under extreme pressure without fear taking over
- Unlock the daily journaling practice that builds unshakeable confidence and helps you find your way back when you're lost
For more information go to https://lewishowes.com/1886
For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960
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