GOAL-SETTING TIPS by TESSA VIRTUE

TESSA VIRTUE SHARES Eight GOAL-SETTING TIPS


Plus, how skating in nothing but body paint helped her feel limitless

by Renée Tse
April 01, 2019

If you’re ever in need of inspiration or want to get out of a rut, we highly recommend talking to Tessa Virtue to cure your woes. With five Olympic medals and a Barbie under her belt, the 29-year-old is kind of a pro when it comes pursuing dreams and making them come true. Recently, we got to witness that drive first-hand when we visited Virtue on the set of Nivea’s #NoLimits campaign shoot.

It features the ice dancing champ as we’ve seen her before, skating in nothing but feathers, knickers and body paint. Yep, you read that right. Set to a commissioned song entitled “Fearless” and choreographed by Sam Chouinard (he also created that gold-medal-winning “Moulin Rouge” number viewed millions of times over on YouTube), the piece is all about pushing your own boundaries.

“It’s about feeling really comfortable with who you are in your skin—with your own colours and feathers—which is so liberating,” explains Virtue. “I like to do that though movement and dance, but everyone has that within them. It’s about being uninhibited and allowing yourself to explore that.”

Here, the ice dancing champion shares how she cultivates that self-confidence and goes after her goals.

AIM HIGH

“Since the Olympics, I’ve talked about the feeling of being limitless, and it’s something I think I took for granted because I was raised by a very strong mom and an independent fierce grandma. I think they just instilled that in me, and I can equate it to almost a physical burning fire within me. I always felt I could do or be anything. But I didn’t realize until fairly recently that not everyone has that luxury of growing up with that ideology, and that kind of broke my heart. I think everyone should embrace that in their own way and in their own fields. It’s about setting your bar high, having standards for yourself and being committed to work for what you’re passionate about.”

STAY FOCUSED

“Part of being an athlete is constantly striving for more. We’re looking for perfection in a world where that doesn’t exist. No matter what we do and what we accomplish or how we perform, we’re always looking at areas we can improve upon. I think it’s easier to stay grounded when we’re constantly critiquing our work and dreaming bigger and bigger. I’m very task-oriented. The idea of constantly pursuing something with purpose helps me to stay focused. You don’t really get lost in the other noise when you are committed to following a passion so fully.”

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGES

“When you stop competing, it’s a tough transition for any athlete because every decision in the day used to revolve around winning. That’s the singular driving force, which makes things easier in a way. It simplifies your life. I was floundering a little bit afterwardsbecause the world opened up, and I was no longer in this protected insulated bubble. I think that’s the beauty of this stage in my life and career. It’s also a wonderful challenge to embrace and try to apply the skills I learned as an athlete into the business world or to different aspects of my life. The possibilities are endless, which is exciting when you trust yourself and have the confidence to embrace the challenge of it.”

STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF

“Throughout a competitive career, you can certainly lose yourself trying to please the judges. But [Scott Moir and I] had our best moments, our best seasons and our best performances when we were doing things in our own way and on our own terms. I faltered, I fell and failed multiple times, but it brought forth this confidence in knowing who I am and what I stand for and what I’m looking for. I trust my voice, and I think that’s very powerful, especially as a woman today. To be able to stand behind that and own it. Own who you are, your quirks, your abilities, your flaws. I think there’s nothing more beautiful that.”“I constantly have to layer on makeup for performances and events, and this product takes it all off so easily. I always take it with me when I’m travelling,” Virtue says of Nivea’s new micellar water for heavy makeup. Nivea MicellAIR Skin Breather Expert Micellar Water, $10, in drugstores.


DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES

“Scott and I practised failing in order to be the best at the Olympics. We would purposefully fall and practise regrouping. We learned our biggest lessons when we faced obstacles. When we showed up at training and we’re sick or injured, or the ice was bad or whatever it was, we knew that was preparing us in a more complete way than those training sessions where everything came easily. Because nothing of substance comes easily. Commander Chris Hadfield said something that resonated with me of this in his book. He’s obviously dealing with things on a totally different scale, but his approach to being an astronaut was, ‘How can I die next?’ And then he’d work backwards and devise a plan. We thought of our career that way. What’s the worst that can possibly happen and how do we combat that and how do we prepare better than any of our competitors?”

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

“Olympic Rower Marnie McBean once told us that ‘Someone’s going to go out there to win the Olympics and someone’s going to be the next Canadian to fly into space. And someone’s going to create the next big tech thing. So why not you?’ What she was saying was, ‘Why can’t you be the ones to take home the gold medal?’ It sort of jolted us into this moment of realizing, ‘Sure why not.’ It’s important to continue to challenge ourselves and push ourselves, so we have something to be proud of. I promise, all that extra work makes it so much more fun.”

PLAY THE LONG GAME

“It’s that delayed gratification that we just don’t have anymore. I used to approach every training session thinking, ‘How do I want to feel at the end of this day?’ And I would feel anxious and sick driving to the rink because I knew I was in for a gruelling and demanding training day. But then I started seeing it differently. I wanted to know I’d given it my all, so that four years from now, it would pay off. It was about embracing that delayed gratification and playing that long game, which is so much more rewarding.”

RECONNECT WITH YOURSELF

“For 20 years, I would wake up every morning and do a head-to-toe scan of ‘How do I feel and what’s tense? What do I need to work on?’ Now, I’ve started to disconnect from that because it’s not an instrument the same way it once was. I’m trying new things like boxing, yoga and cycling and workout classes where you can turn the lights off and blare music. I’ve never experienced that before. Everything was so functional, so this is really fun for me. As women, we’re busy. We’re under stress and under pressure, and the expectations are so high for us, so the first thing to go is self-care. A priority for me for the next while is just to really reconnect with myself.”







Link: https://thekit.ca/beauty/celebrity-beauty/tessa-virtue-goal-setting-tips/