Where It All Started
Before I ever sat in a college lecture hall or opened a textbook, I was on a track—eyes forward, knees up, lungs burning, and hurdles stretching ahead. Track and field was one of my first loves, and hurdling in particular became a defining part of my high school experience. It wasn’t just about running fast; it was about precision, timing, and staying composed when fatigue and pressure hit all at once.
As I’ve transitioned from student-athlete to professional, I’ve come to realize how much that time on the track shaped the way I deal with challenges in my career and life. Hurdling, as a sport, is a perfect metaphor for resilience. You don’t just sprint—you sprint over barriers. And the lessons you learn from that process stick with you long after the finish line.
Learning to Fall—and Get Back Up
The first thing you learn as a hurdler is how to fall. No one tells you that going in. You assume it’s all about form and speed. But almost every hurdler has experienced a fall—often in front of a crowd, teammates, coaches. And when it happens, it’s sudden and humbling.
My first big fall was during a qualifying heat. I clipped the seventh hurdle and went down hard. I remember the sound of the crowd gasping, the sting of the track on my skin, and the rush of embarrassment that followed. But I also remember getting up, brushing it off, and preparing for the next meet.
That experience taught me something vital: setbacks are inevitable. In sports. In school. In your career. But what defines you isn’t the stumble—it’s how you recover. That mindset has helped me stay grounded through difficult projects, rejections, and moments of self-doubt. I don’t fear failure the way I used to, because I’ve lived through it and kept moving.
Focus on the Next Step, Not Just the Finish Line
Hurdling forces you to break a race into pieces. You can’t fixate on the finish line—you have to focus on each individual hurdle. You’re constantly adjusting your stride, your rhythm, your breathing. Every step matters.
That kind of focus has been essential in my academic and professional journey. At the University of Chicago and NYU, the workload could feel overwhelming. In life, the pace is relentless. But hurdling taught me to zoom in. To take things one challenge at a time. Whether I’m tackling a complex issue or navigating uncertainty, I try not to get caught up in the big picture too soon. I ask myself: what’s the very next step I can control?
Resilience, I’ve found, isn’t about powering through everything at once. It’s about breaking things down, keeping your pace, and trusting that small, consistent progress will get you through even the hardest stretches.
Mental Toughness Beats Raw Talent
In track, it’s easy to think that the fastest person always wins. But when it comes to hurdles, it’s not just about speed—it’s about control. The best hurdlers aren’t always the strongest or the quickest; they’re the ones who stay focused under pressure, adapt when things go off-plan, and manage their mindset in the face of competition.
That’s the same kind of mental toughness that drives resilience in high-pressure careers. In any professional setting there are things you can’t control. What you can control is your reaction—your ability to stay calm, analyze clearly, and avoid letting fear or frustration dictate your decisions.
Hurdling helped me develop that inner discipline. When you’re 40 meters in and your rhythm is off, panic doesn’t help. What helps is composure, adaptability, and confidence that you can still finish strong. That’s a mindset I try to bring into every part of my life.
Trust the Training
One of the underrated aspects of being an athlete is the amount of time you spend preparing behind the scenes. For every minute on the track, there are hours of drills, strength work, recovery, and film review. It’s repetitive. It’s tiring. But it builds a foundation.
In my professional life, I’ve learned to trust the same process. There are days when the work feels unglamorous—grinding through the day, troubleshooting, sitting in long meetings. But just like in athletics, those moments build the base that lets you perform when it matters. You don’t rise to the occasion—you fall back on your training.
That idea helps me stay resilient during the slow or frustrating parts of growth. The “training” may not always look exciting, but it prepares you to handle the big opportunities with confidence.
Every Hurdle Builds You
If I’ve learned anything from sports, it’s that the hurdles never go away. They just change form. In high school, it was trying to shave half a second off my time. In college, it was balancing academic intensity with internships. Now, it’s navigating fast-paced days and long-term career goals.
The hurdles evolve, but the approach stays the same: commit to the race, trust your preparation, and never let a fall keep you down. Every obstacle you overcome makes you a little stronger, a little wiser, and a little more prepared for the next one.
Building Resilience Beyond the Track
I’m grateful for everything hurdling taught me—not just about sports, but about life. It gave me a physical and mental toolkit for dealing with stress, failure, pressure, and uncertainty. It taught me to keep moving, even when things don’t go as planned.
So whether you’re an athlete, a student, or someone in the thick of career challenges, I encourage you to think like a hurdler. The path won’t be smooth. You’ll hit a few barriers. But if you stay focused, stay tough, and keep showing up, you’ll find that resilience is something you can build—one stride at a time.