Growing up, I wanted to be a professional golfer.

If you wanted to protect your body and your future in golf,

You avoided skiing like the plague.

Twisted ankles.

ACLs tears.

The list goes on.

It never felt like a smart trade.

But now, my sister’s kids are starting to learn.

So, at the weekend, I went skiing for the first time.

While I was standing to collect my ski boots, an old friend showed up.

Anxiety.

That feeling that used to cripple me.

That feeling I used to battle daily.

That feeling I used to run away from.

But this time it reminded me of something important:

Anxiety is often just your body and mind introducing you to the unknown.

Over the years, I’ve built frameworks for handling that feeling.

And now, strangely enough, I actually think anxiety is a good thing.

Because it tells me three things immediately:

1. You are not yet comfortable or confident here.
2. Good. That means you’re doing something new.
3. You are going to learn a lot quickly.

Think about any time you’ve felt nervous:

• Standing in front of your classmates to give a talk.
• Presenting to your boss.
• Giving a wedding speech.
• Delivering a eulogy.
• Sitting your driving test.
• Walking into a new fitness class.
• Going dancing for the first time in years.

The list goes on and on.

Whenever something is new, you’re naturally a little unprepared.

And whenever you feel unprepared, those feelings rise to the surface.

Uncertainty. Self-doubt. Anxiety.

But those feelings are not a stop sign.

They’re a signal.

A signal that you just need to do more practice.

You can completely reframe these situations:

Okay, I’m bad at this right now… but what would I look like after 10 more reps?

What would happen if I practised it 100 times?

Who would I become if I did this 1,000 times?

That’s the game.

Because when you see someone perform brilliantly…

When you hear someone give a talk and completely own the room…

When you watch someone make hard things look easy…

It’s rarely magic.

It’s usually volume.

They’ve just done it far more times than you have.

The other week, my co-founder at No Ordinary Moments and I had to present to a potential investor.

We were both excited. We were both incredibly nervous.

The first time we practised the talk, we were terrible.

Honestly, terrible.

By the 20th run-through, though, we were actually pretty good.

Good enough to walk into the room and deliver it properly.

But even then, I had the same thought:

Imagine how confident we would’ve felt if we had practised it 100 times. Or 1,000.

I learned this lesson years ago when I was trying to become a professional golfer.

There were tournaments I turned up to just hoping to play well.

Hoping the swing would be there. Hoping I’d find confidence on the day.

Those were the days I felt nervous all day.

But then there were other days.

Days when I turned up knowing I was going to win.

I remember entering a men’s tournament when I was 15.

I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years!

Before I even teed off, I wrote my winning speech in the car park.

Not because I was arrogant.

Because I knew.

I knew no one there had prepared more.

For a month, I lived and breathed golf.

I slept it. I ate it. I drank it.

I knew no adult entering that event had put in more hours than I had.

And I won.

That experience taught me something I’ve never forgotten:

Confidence is earned through repetition.

So, how do you become exceptional at anything?

Do more repetitions than anyone else.

That’s what most achievement in life comes down to.

Not talent. Not luck. Not timing.

Just a willingness to do the work more times than other people are willing to.

Figure out what you want.

Then, do so much volume that it becomes unreasonable for you to fail.

And one last thing:

Ego is walking into a room trying to prove you’re skilled.

Confidence is walking into a room knowing you’re prepared.

Ego wants validation. Confidence comes from work.

Real confidence is quiet.

It doesn’t need to shout.

It just knows:

I’ve done the reps, and I trust myself implicitly.

Have a great week ahead.

Kia kaha & love,
Chris xx