You need to live out the story that you see for yourself.
And the story that you see is what's going to guide you every day.
So I envisioned this completing Iron Man, qualifying for Kona, and just taking it to
the next level.
You have to change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.
I changed my story.
I changed the channel to gratitude.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it to the world championships and compete
with the best in the world.
I believe that was in a space of gratitude.
When I train and when I race, it's an appreciation for what God has given me.
I believe that I have gifts and talents that have brought me to this sport.
I truly believe it is my responsibility to show up every day and give 100% of myself.
That is my gratitude.
Hello and welcome back to Life's Next Lesson Plan podcast where I continue to pave my post
education path after three decades as an English teacher.
On today's episode I'm chatting with Anna Straylow, a former student of mine who now
runs her own PT practice, all while competing as a professional Iron Man triathlete.
I'm just going to say that if her words don't inspire and motivate you, I don't know what
would.
This conversation both warmed my heart and tops my list as one of the top 10 moments of
my 51 years.
Just listen and you'll see what I mean.
I'm so happy to have Anna Straylow with me today.
I have to say, as I was explaining to her, it's been so fun to reconnect with former
students of mine who now are teaching me things I could have never taught them.
This is another example of that.
Anna and I met, I think you might have been, were you a freshman?
I think I might have met you as a freshman.
And I had your older brother and sister in class and I remember them writing about you
and talking about our baby sister.
And then it was so fun when I actually got to have you in class.
So that's how we met, but I will let you kind of explain your background a little bit to
the audience.
I graduated 2009, soccer was my big thing.
After high school, went to the University of St. Thomas and I played college soccer
there.
I started studying, I was a bio major.
I really wanted to be a dentist for some reason.
There was this idea of having my own practice and doing my own thing that I felt was very
empowering and unbeknownst to me, I get to college, I took three courses because I was
juggling soccer as well so I wasn't going to take many credits, but my schedule was
bio, organic, cum, and calculus.
And I, after, I think it was like first semester, I came home, it was, I came home on winter
break and I was talking with my parents like this isn't right.
Like this is terrible.
I'm not having a great time in regards to school soccer was fabulous.
But then at that time, I was rehabbing in ankle sprain from the season and I met the
most amazing physical therapist at Freightart and she just became my inspiration.
She, and to this day, she actually still kind of mentors me a bit.
But she also played a college sport.
She had three boys, she worked with athletes, like I looked at her and was like, I want
your life.
So I went back to St. Thomas and totally changed my major.
I was an exercise science major.
I graduated in 2013 and then I went directly into PT school.
I went to the College of St. Scholastica and got my doctorate.
I graduated from PT school three years later and then my goal was to work at Freightart
Hospital.
And so I moved back to be home.
My whole family's here.
So I was done with Minnesota and I started a job at Freightart and I had worked at Freightart
for eight years as a physical therapist and I recently just left.
So it's kind of been my journey since high school, I guess.
Exactly.
And I'm guessing that you'll talk a little bit later about what you're currently doing.
Absolutely.
Okay.
All right.
We will get to that.
So when you think back on your school days, either high school or college, do you have
like a memory that sticks out to you from when you were a student?
Yeah.
I mean, high school probably the best memory was sophomore year.
Because we won the state championship in 2007.
Going back to my glory days.
But it was the best year because I assisted the game goal in double overtime to Andrew
Pfeiffer who at the time was dating my cousin Ricky Stoll.
So it meant the world to my whole family.
Yeah, that's a great.
But also that year the boys won state football.
So it's just a rock star year.
Higher high school, I would say the biggest memory in college was my freshman year.
I play a lot and we made it to the NCAA tournament.
And so having that experience was just incredible.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
So I can see why you're so inspired to continue competing in your current flight.
So when you looked beyond either high school or college to look at what your next steps
were going to be, how did you plan out your next chapter after education, I suppose?
Okay, sure.
Yeah.
So once I graduated PT school, I was working.
I kind of felt like I had lost a part of me because I wasn't competing.
Like I didn't have soccer and soccer was so much a part of my life.
So I found running to be a passion of mine because it was easy and I could do it during
PT school.
And the cool thing about St. Scholastica is in Duluth.
So I was able to explore trails and just a different area.
And frankly, all you can do in PT school is like run, drink beer and study repeat.
So anyway, there's a really famous marathon that's in Duluth.
It's called Grabba's Marathon.
And I started training for this with some classmates and I told myself, I'm only doing
a marathon if I can qualify for Boston.
So that was the goal.
And if I qualify for Boston, I'll do it and then I'm done.
And I did.
I ran a crazy fast marathon for my first one and I qualified for Boston.
The year I graduated PT school, 2016, I did Boston, which by the way for any runners out
there, like it's a must do bucket list.
Absolutely have to do Boston.
It is one of the majors.
But anyway, so I finished Boston and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm never doing a marathon.
Like that was so horrible.
And of course that was not the case.
I then was officially back home working at Frater.
It's still running.
And my dad is a cyclist.
He really enjoys being on his bike.
And he said, okay, now that you're home, you gotta come biking with me.
I was like, okay, sure.
I have nothing else to do but work on this adult thing.
And so I started biking with him and he introduced me to a coach who ran this, essentially like
a cycling group out in Brookfield.
Her name is Heather.
And he said, you know, why don't you just work with Heather, have her as your coach
and see how you do with your running.
And I was like, okay, cool.
So of course I ended up signing for late from marathon.
I was like, I'll do just one more because it's local.
And during that time with Heather, I ended up getting an Achilles injury.
And so she invited me to go to a pool with her and swim.
And while she would swim, I would aquajog.
So I get to this pool and it's just like inundated with like Ironman gear and really fit buff
people, fast swimmers.
And I look at her and I'm like, Heather, you're going to have me put on this diaper of a thing
and aquajog next to all of these really good swimmers.
Like that's embarrassing.
And for me, like as a big competitor, this like lit a fire inside.
Like there is no way I'm doing this.
So of course I listened and I aquajogged.
But then afterwards I remember even before I got to work, I was YouTubing how to swim.
Like and of course I admit, like as a child, yes, got through like level five swim and
I could not pass level five.
It was very traumatic for me.
But not pass level five because I couldn't dive appropriately.
But anyway, so I'm YouTubing how to swim and I had a coaching call with Heather and
I said, I want to swim.
Like I want to do this.
This is like, I'm not going to go aquajog.
Like let's swim.
And she's like, okay, Heather herself was a professional triathlete.
So she knew all disciplines of how to coach all disciplines.
So I really trust her to guide me in this.
And as we got going, she's like, why don't you just do triathlon?
And at the time I'm like, I don't even really know.
Like I didn't know really an Ironman was or triathlon was.
So I started to look into it and I was like, okay, sure.
And so she started to coach me.
I began with some doathlons and then she had a group of athletes she coached and this
group was going to Steelhead, Michigan.
So this was like 2017, 2018 to do a half Ironman.
And at the time I had done like one sprint triathlon and I had won it.
So these people are like, you're so good.
You should come with us and do this half.
Oh my gosh, she explained that to my mother.
She like had a heart attack.
She's like, you're doing what for how long and where?
I was like, yeah, I think I'm going to go do it.
And so I signed up and Heather trained me to do this and I won my age group, which for
those who don't really know much about triathlon, like that's a big deal.
And at the time I didn't know that either.
So I'm like, okay, cool.
Like I've won my what?
Okay.
Who's in my age group, right?
Like whatever.
And I was also on like Heather's hand me down bike.
Like I just, I just want to do it for fun and to have a challenge, do something different
outside of, you know, work.
And so what I learned and quickly learned was that you have to stay after the race for
awards if you win your age group to get your award.
And then they ask you, do you want to go to the world championships?
And you know, I stayed and the world championships were going to be in Nice, France that year.
That would have been 2019 and they offered me the slide and I said, no.
And everybody was like, you said, what?
Why?
Like this is a huge deal.
And I was like, okay, first of all, I'm a new PT.
I have zero money.
I just did this thing.
Like I don't really know much about.
And I don't know what the world champs is.
And that was a very bad decision.
I quickly learned.
So we got back from Michigan on Sunday.
I went to work on Monday and I remember where I was in freighter.
I ran over to this window during lunch and I called Heather and I said, Heather, I just
made the worst decision ever.
Like I really should have gone to the world champs.
I was reading about it during my lunch.
Like how do we go?
And she then quickly looked up another race.
There was another race that was going to be in May in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
And she said, okay, so you can sign up for this one.
And if you win your age group, or maybe there's two slots, you could go to Nice.
And I was like, okay, well, let's do it.
So I signed up for another one and I went to Chattanooga and I raced my heart out.
At that race, I had a five minute penalty for drafting.
And I thought that was it.
Oh my gosh.
When you get a penalty, you then have to pull over to a penalty tent during the race.
And so I pulled over to these cute two little Tennessee chicks and they're like, we're so
sorry you had to wait this time.
We'll set the timer and you just go right away when it hits here.
I was like, okay.
So during the time that I'm like freaking out, but also looking at these people who are passing
me like, okay, is she in my age group?
Is she okay?
She looks kind of old.
She looks young.
I don't have to do this anymore, but at the time you'd write your age on your calf.
So that's what I was really looking for.
So I get off the bike and I just run my ass off and I end up qualifying for Worlds by
42 seconds.
For the second time.
So 2019, my husband and I go to Nice.
And Nice was incredible.
I got to meet people from all across the world, but the course was horrible because it was
so hilly and challenging, but like fabulous at the same time.
And I crossed that finish line and that's when I said, okay, so what's next?
So then it was, let's do a full.
And it was one of those things again.
I told myself, if I do full and I qualify, then we should go to Kona.
And we did that.
So COVID hit and I had a little freak out because it was really getting into this thing
and I wanted to do a full.
And so I just trained really hard through COVID.
And honestly, I think that's what mentally saved me because I had something to focus
on other than being at the hospital, seeing people die.
You know, like that was an ever something I thought of as a physical therapist.
I would be trying to save people.
I was during that time a part of the proning team, which meant we would go in as therapists,
wrap people up like burritos and turn them onto their stomach so they could breathe better.
So this was an area of my life where I was really like I put on another cap, right?
Like we were there to save and then I came home to something that was refreshing.
Like I could turn that off and go ride my bike for four hours and feel really great
about it because I knew at some point this would come to an end and I was going to go
do the Madison Ironman.
So really it saved me.
And so then 2020 I go do Madison Ironman and I really didn't know what to expect regardless
of doing three halves.
When you get to a full, it's a different beast.
You know, you're out there for hours.
You have to nail your nutrition.
But at the end of the day, my focus was to have fun and to see if I could reach my potential
at that time.
And that was without expectation.
That was just go see what you could do.
And if you end up qualifying for Kona, cool.
If you don't, maybe that was it.
And I won the whole thing.
Of course you did.
I won the whole thing by like 27 minutes.
And that was one of the best days of my life other than marrying my husband.
Because I didn't think that would happen.
I really didn't.
Like I knew deep down like I could be competitive in this sport.
But I didn't think I would win my first Ironman.
And it's not even like when you accomplish something like this that the day is perfect.
It's not like you go through trials and tribulations in the eight to nine hour day of swim bike
run.
It was winning the race and winning the battles that came.
Like I was able to adapt and adjust.
And that was huge.
So that's when I was like, whoa, like I'm winning a lot.
Can I take this to the next level?
That same year to lead up to Ironman, I also won USAT Nationals.
And that was a big deal as an amateur to win the whole thing.
So that's I think when I decided to go the next level.
Like let's see how I do in Kona.
But because I won Nationals and I won Ironman, I already qualified as a pro.
So it sparked something in me to keep going.
Once I did Madison, then I did another Ironman leading into Kona, which was like Placid.
I also won that.
So that like gave me another stack of proof like you're at a different level.
Like you can do this.
And then I got to Kona and I was a third overall female in the amateur and second in my age
group with the fastest amateur marathon split in like the wildest heat ever.
Like you're just imagine running like 26.2 miles after 112 mile bike like in a sauna.
You did all of that in a high place.
The heat is something I can't even explain.
I have Lake Placid prior to Kona was really hot like 90s hot black top.
But Kona was like heat on my neck on the bike.
Like just I was I was in a space I can't even describe because of how cooling the heat and
the wind was.
Like I was just praying at some point in the back half of the bike.
Like I was saying the rosary like with my counting the beads on my fingers because I
just was like I'm thinking I'm just trying to survive here.
Like forget winning or whatever place I'm in.
Like this is on real.
Wow.
But at the same time, it was the most magical experience.
And when I cross that finish line, I told myself I'm coming back here as a professional
because Kona is where triathlons started.
It is majestic.
It is the energy there that you get from the black volcanic rock is like something so powerful.
And when you can open your eyes and your heart to the island, that's when you have that energy
to do that race.
There's a reason that this is the race that all triathletes aspire to be in.
And also that you know, triathlons not huge in America, but you talk to somebody about
Iron Man.
And the first thing they say is like, oh that Kona thing.
Like that's what people know.
And that's what people like want to get to when they do an Iron Man.
It's all about Kona.
So that was just an incredible race.
And I made that vow to myself that I'm coming back.
Yeah.
And the rest they say.
So you became professional.
So I became professional last year.
So Kona was in 22 and then 23 was my first year professional.
This is my second year.
I've slowly made my way up the rankings.
This year I had two podium finishes.
So I just did one Iron Man this year, Iron Man Chat Nuga.
And I was third, which qualified me for Kona.
So I did do that, which that was a huge, huge goal.
And then I just had my second podium two weekends ago at 70.3 Indian Wells.
Again, another big goal for me.
So right now I'm ranked 68th in the world and 10th nationally.
Wow.
Oh my gosh.
Just in that short period of time.
Yeah.
Wow.
That has to be surreal.
Some days.
And I mean it is.
It is.
But I'm just at the same time, like I'm just so grateful every day for this opportunity
to do this.
Because I mean it's really been a dream come true.
I think I've always, even as a child, I remember wanting to be a professional athlete.
Like I grew up as a soccer player idolizing me a ham.
Like that was my world.
Like I had, she played at UNC before playing in the US Women's Team.
Like I even had UNC posters in Jersey's.
Like I wanted to be her so bad.
And I think that as I grew older and out of that sport, it just wasn't the sport for me.
And I found this sport that I just, I love everything about it, but also the community
that it brings.
Like people come, like not even really knowing how to swim, bike, or run.
And then they train and push themselves to be healthier and to live better and have this
huge goal outside the daily grind.
And to see people at these finish lines is just, oh, it's emotional.
Yeah.
I mean, definitely I was bit by that bug a few years.
I did a few half marathons.
And then for my 40th birthday, my goal was to try and complete my first triathlon.
And I did it.
And yeah, you can't stand at one of those finish lines and say, I'm done.
This isn't inspiring.
Right?
There's something that bites you at the end and those finish lines.
And it's, I remember, because obviously I've known you since you were a freshman in high
school, I helped you with your essays for college.
I helped you, or I remember meeting you at the Chancery, helping you with your PT, you
know, essays.
I followed you.
I remember you posting about Grandma's Marathon.
I remember you posting about your first triathlon.
And to hear the story, you know, play out, and I've followed your newsletters, I've followed
your journey.
It's so interesting to hear, like, how one step led to the other.
And you couldn't, when you were that girl idolizing Mia Hamm, you couldn't have imagined.
Like you said, I wanted to be a professional athlete.
Never would you have thought, oh, I'm going to be a professional triathlete.
Right.
And so to hear how it played out, it's just, it's so inspirational to be like, you don't
know how one thing, I'm going to try running.
I'm going to try biking.
I'm rehabbing.
I really want to learn how to swim, how that turned out into becoming a professional athlete.
Right.
It's just such an amazing story.
Yeah.
I don't know if stories get more fascinating than yours.
So you took this big leap, tried something brand new, loved it, decided, you know, I'm
pretty good.
I'm going to be professional and then like any good competitor does, you start to assemble
a team of support to get you through it.
So can you talk to us a little bit about your team and like the most impactful mentor or
influence you've had as you have put that team together?
Yes.
So I would say that my coach Heather has had a huge role in all of this because she has
really inspired me and pushed me to just see the sport and understand the sport.
So her and I have been working together ever since I started this.
We're going on like eight years in this journey.
During the time that I was preparing for Ironman, Wisconsin and then COVID hit, I was having
a really difficult time like accepting the fact that I wasn't able to race.
Like I felt like it was taken away from me and also this new role of like helping people
survive COVID, like literally saving lives.
Like when I went to PT school, I didn't think I'd have to do that.
Like we learned CPR.
Of course we learned a bunch of other things, but not to that extreme.
And so I had a difficult time like accepting that it was okay for me to do this thing that
I love and still pursue that goal of completing an Ironman while like playing this other role
as a physical therapist.
And so Heather suggested that I start working with Siri Linley.
Siri Linley is an incredible, incredible woman, my greatest mentor.
And she, just to give you a little background about her, she's a two-time world champion.
She's a triathlon, whole of famer.
She is an author.
She is an animal activist.
She is a keynote speaker for Tony Robbins.
I mean, the list just goes on.
She also is a cancer survivor.
She's an incredible woman.
Anyway, so Heather suggested I start working with her as almost like my mindset coach.
And as I almost grew with Siri, what she has really taught me is that you need to live out
the story that you see for yourself.
And the story that you see is what's going to guide you every day.
So I envisioned this completing Ironman, qualifying for Kona and just taking it to the next level.
And she's really helped me to navigate that.
So I would say by far she has made such a significant impact on my life.
And then more recently, I left my job of eight years.
And she essentially led me to make that decision.
So it sounds like, I mean, personally, I'd like to have my own Siri in my life, but I
definitely in my car have my own sort of life advisors through podcasts that I listen to.
And I'm sure during your time working with her, she has imparted on you a lot of lessons,
which lucky for our listeners today, you are going to boil some of that down to share with
them in your lesson today.
Yes.
Well, I would say a few things first.
One thing she's really taught me is to let your choices reflect your hopes, not your
fears.
And as I was saying before, she's really been instrumental in me taking this almost leap
of faith to leave my job at Freighter Hospital, to trust and believe in myself that I can
do this as a professional athlete.
Still serving people, like I still have my own practice now.
I still see people for physical therapy, but I can do that and be one of the best in the
world.
Yeah.
Wow.
She, like she will say, decide on the person that you want to become and act that way,
even if it's really fucking hard.
And I, she's taught me to change my story.
So like, I believe that I can be a world champion in this sport.
And so it's important for me to wake up and live as if I was already a world champion.
Like what would Anna do if she was a world champion?
And that helps me make the right decision.
That helps me push harder during my sessions, which ultimately then when you stack your
days of consistency, that's success.
And that's what we want over time.
There's the, there's a, it's so trite and cliche compared to the, the depth that you're
explaining, but I hear it all the time.
Someone saying dress for the job you want, not the job you have.
It's sort of like going through the motions of like, here's, it's a visualization, right?
And like living out the steps that it would take to have this dream life that you're
talking about.
Yeah.
It's not woo woo.
You have to just, I shouldn't say just, you have to believe in yourself.
And that is hard.
Like in this day and age, that is really hard because there's so much on social media.
And while we're on there, you know, it's, it's so easy to compare.
Like I don't have what he has or she has, or I don't have those resources.
And that's when we get caught up in this cycle of just limiting beliefs.
And Siri has taught me like, why would you believe that?
Like why would you think those limiting beliefs?
Because you know, I guess if you want to fail or if you want to be in this like cyclical
thought of, I don't have this that or the other thing, well, then that's what you're
going to get.
And when you think about it in the opposite way of this is what I want and this is what
I believe for myself.
Well, it's going to come to you.
But again, like you have to work for that.
Mm hmm.
You have to believe in yourself.
I think that's the biggest thing.
Yeah.
Talking to you before this episode, I mean, I've had chills so many times because obviously
I have made a big decision in the last few months and have had a lot of self doubt and
have it's not always not everybody you explain your big decision to is going to understand
or be comfortable with maybe making that decision for themselves.
But everything that you have said is words I've heard of inspiration from professionals
and you are a professional as well.
And so to hear it, it's just, it's just another sign from the universe that like you're doing
the right thing.
It is all going to work out.
And oh my goodness, like I'm going to be sleeping so well tonight after hearing this
conversation.
But I also think like in that space of what you're creating, like think about what is
cost right because that is such a positive and empowering space.
Think about like how much more creative you will be because yes, you'll be sleeping more
because you're going to be happier and you'll have greater success.
Like it works out that way, but you have to believe that and it's not just again, it's
not this woo woo thing.
Like it is real energy.
And when you wake up in that space, it's, it's empowering.
Yeah, it's the same mindset of I get to that you've explained and like this is a gift and
looking at again, repeating what you've said, not what I don't have, but what I do have
and how I can use the gifts that I've been given.
Or life is happening for you, not to you.
Like if you think all of these things are happening to you, oh, that sounds like you're
just beating that horse.
Yeah, you're not in control of your own life.
Like you're not taking the reins of your own life.
You're letting it happen to you rather than controlling your own destiny.
Exactly.
Yeah, interesting.
Oh, and obviously, you know, challenge, challenge is common with this when you take the risk.
But when you change the meaning to these things, when you change the meaning to I'm going to
see this challenge or this failure as an opportunity.
It's an opportunity to learn and to grow.
You know you could become better on the other side.
And yes, as a better person, you might fail again, but again, it's an opportunity to be
even better.
So that's where your potential is unlimited.
And why won't you want to believe that?
Yeah, it's interesting.
You talked a lot obviously in your story about all the wins that you had.
But because I follow you, I know that there have been times when you struggled on a course
and things didn't work out the way you wanted them to.
But at the end of the day, you always say after a race, I'm going to take that and I'm
going to learn from it and I'm going to be better.
Not I'm going to quit.
I mean, you only fail when you quit, right?
When you say, okay, well, I'm done doing this now.
And if you did that every time you had a setback, right?
You never move forward, right?
I just get six.
Right.
But I'm not going to do that.
So I know because I followed you that it hasn't all been like placing first and podium every
time.
But you always find a way to say, okay, that happened.
Here's what I learned from it.
I'm moving on.
And that is life.
That's life.
Right.
Totally.
So does that prepare us for your homework?
Well, that's my true lesson.
Okay.
Yes.
Okay, so a few things I wrote down from my lesson.
I really had to share.
So no one else makes your journey intentional, only you.
So when you can start your day with your intention of what am I going to accomplish today?
This depends on your habits, your self-talk, your core values.
And like I was saying before, you must believe in yourself and believe in your worth because
any energy spent looking at others, like I was saying before about what's this society,
you know, what we have created with social media.
It's so easy to look at others.
Any of that energy spent is just energy wasted.
It is energy spent on them and not on you.
And that's taking away from your passion and your desire.
So you must have intention and believe, believe in the story that you want to live just as
I have created my own story of being one of the best in the world.
And that's what I'm going to live out.
And I believe people need to do the same.
When you change your standard and you eliminate these limiting beliefs, whatever you're certain
about, you will then find and what you focus on, you will find.
That's the lesson.
I have a part two of those.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
I was just going to say that I added to my cart before this conversation when we were
chatting Anna recommended a book called Worthy, right?
Who's the author again?
Jamie.
Okay, so if we can't all afford our own Siri or invest in a book.
Well, Siri has a book.
Oh, she does.
Yeah, what is that?
Siri's book is Finding Away.
Okay, so away by Siri, Lenly, it's take.
So both of those would be designed.
Yeah, both of those will probably be future episodes for me where I'll dissect after I've
had a chance to read them and apply them to my own life.
So yeah, again, I'm just constantly learning and growing from kids that I used to.
I call them kids who are now grown adults.
And yeah, they just have so much more wisdom that I could have ever imparted on them.
It's amazing.
Okay, so what's your part two?
My part two is it's be grateful.
You have to change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.
I changed my story.
I changed the channel to gratitude.
I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it to the world championships and compete
with the best in the world.
And I did that.
And I believe that was in a space of gratitude because when I train and when I race, it's
an appreciation for what God has given me.
I believe that I have gifts and talents that have brought me to this sport.
And I truly believe it is my responsibility to show up every day and give 100% of myself.
And that is my gratitude to God.
And for those that maybe don't believe, it's maybe to the universe or to this spiritual
energy that you have.
It doesn't have to be associated with God.
Ceres says one thing about gratitude and that is that it is the bridge from despair
to hope.
And this gave me an incredible appreciation for the gifts that I have and the opportunity
really that I have to be a world-class professional athlete.
I have always been very grateful and beginning my day with gratitude since working with Ceres
has truly changed my perspective of what is possible.
And like we said before, looking at what I have versus what I don't have.
And that's what's been truly instrumental in my success this far.
Yeah, I was saying to Anna that she definitely walks the talk because every post when she's
about to train and she's about to go out for four hours on her bike, she is excited, genuinely
excited like, yes, I'm going to spend all this time on my bike.
And I said the only thing that would be going through my mind is how am I not going to die,
right?
And she honestly is like, this is the most amazing thing that I get to do and I'm going
to do it all over again.
And I'm just like, wow, how do you get to that headspace?
And so she's sharing all of those tricks with you today.
So do you have some action stuff for the answer?
Okay.
It's a gratitude practice.
So gratitude, I believe is linked to better health, awareness, success, fulfillment in
life, better relationships, better love.
And when you start your day with gratitude, that is what you'll see and that is what you'll
live out.
Just as like I explained before about changing my story, if I believe I can be one of the
best in the world, I ask myself, you know, what would Anna, who's been a world champion,
do?
When you begin your day with gratitude, you see gratitude.
We were talking about this a little bit earlier.
It's kind of like when you get a new car, you're driving your cool Lexus.
What do you see?
You're like, wow, why does everyone else have a Lexus?
Dude, I never saw that.
You see what you want.
And so when you begin your day with gratitude, you can write it down, you could say it, you
can pray it.
It's three things.
It doesn't have to be like, oh, like, I don't even know what, like, what's one thing, maybe
my family, like, it could be so simple as I have legs and I can walk.
I have eyes and I can see.
I have a roof over my head or like, how would you bet?
Everybody loves a bet.
Just roll around in your bed.
I love my bed.
You know, it's just, it's simple, but be grateful for those things because a lot of people,
people don't have that.
And when you can see gratitude and see it throughout your day, it's just better.
I think that's such powerful advice where you focused even just on the smallest things
that we take for granted every day.
And people always say when they, when they lose someone or something that they had, like,
be grateful for it.
And in today's age of social media, we're always looking at the big things that other
people have, right?
Like, why did they get to go on that trip?
Or how can they afford to have this?
And we get so caught up in that and chasing that that we forget like what we have already
is so great.
And if we don't feel that it is great, as you said, then you need to apply the advice
of how can I feel that everything I have is great?
How can I create that destiny?
Oh, my gosh, Anna, speaking to you, I just, I am an English teacher who doesn't even have
the words to express how amazing you are.
And it's so surreal to me to sit with, again, teachers will tell you that when they meet
a student, they always envision them as the freshmen they are, you know, they were when
you met them.
And oh, my gosh, sitting next to you as a professional athlete, grown woman, wife, it's just one
of the most fulfilling things.
Like if my life ended today, I could say I've had such a fulfilling life partially because
you were in it.
So I thank you so much for joining us.
And we will make sure in the show notes that you can follow Anna on her journey like I
have.
She has many places that you would be able to find her and we'll link everything you
need in the show notes.
I hope you enjoyed Anna's words as much as I did.
Next week, I'll be back with a new lesson and more takeaways to apply to your classroom
or to your life.
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