Have you heard the story of Elise Christie, British Speed Skater? In the 500m event, she was disqualified from silver medal position after being judged to have caused a collision. In the 1500m event, she was awarded a ‘did not finish’ because she was fractionally outside the finish line. Heartbreaking, but these things happen in her sport…
What was more disturbing was the abuse she got from Twitter ‘Trolls’…but I’m not going to call them Trolls, I’m going to say it like it is: they’re ‘Arseholes’. So much, that she decided to suspend her Twitter account, and seriously considered giving up. Fortunately, once the story broke that she was getting abuse, more people started supporting her, which helped her get back up again.
In her heat for the 1000m yesterday, she stayed at the back, keeping out of trouble…and then came from the back to win by a country mile! Get in girl! Now, 2 weeks ago, I had never heard of Elise Christie, and honestly, if those arseholes hadn’t abused her on Twitter, I wouldn’t be so keen to see her win a medal! I’d seen the collision and the disqualification and felt for her…but that extra pressure from arseholes turned me into a rabid fan! 😀
Not just because I detest cyber-bullying (of course, I don’t like any bullying, but I find cyber bullying particularly abhorrent), but because that girl came back after 2 bitter disappointments and thousands of abusive tweets. Now that’s what I call resilience. Frankly, I’m not sure I could have come back from that! So, COME ON ELISE! 😀
You see why a supportive team around you is so important? Without it, the arseholes win. Without it, giving up seems more appealing. Without it, we couldn’t find the mental strength to come back after distressing setbacks. Without it, we’re missing a huge part of the puzzle. And what I love, is what this story shows – you don’t have to know your support team!
There are millions of really lovely people in the world, supportive, encouraging, loving. Some of them write weekly articles and blog posts (#justsayin). Some of them share inspiring stories on t’internet. Some of them hang out on forums being supportive and lovely. Some of them don’t know you exist until your darkest hour, and then they come out like an enraged mama bear to cheer you on.
Know, my love, that there is an invisible army cheering you on too. You may not hear from them, but they want your success, they want you to be joyful and happy and love your life. They are sending up prayers for you, and they will be in tears when you win your game of life. And I am one of that army – I’m in your corner. I believe in you. I know you can have the life you dream of. And I’m ready to help you do it, when you’re ready.
Love
Donna.x