The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.
Jackie Joyner-KerseeRead
I set my sights on making an Olympic team, not realizing how tough it was going to be.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the determination to achieve ambitious goals, despite underestimating the challenges ahead.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee's quote emphasizes the importance of setting high aspirations, such as making an Olympic team, while also acknowledging that one may not fully grasp the difficulties involved in pursuing such lofty objectives. It highlights a common experience where enthusiasm and ambition might overshadow the reality of the hard work and perseverance required to overcome obstacles in the journey toward success.
In practice
In a motivational speech to aspiring athletes, this quote can be used to inspire them to chase their dreams.
The only person who can stop you from reaching your goals is you.
Winning is great, but being able to finish my last Olympic Games on American soil was very important. Even though I was injured, I didn't let my psyche get the best of me and cause me to doubt myself, so I was willing to pull every muscle in my body in '96 in order to get the job done and I came away with the bronze medal.
We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism, sexism and discrimination. The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless.
The 2012 London Olympic Games fostered a generation of hope. I witnessed women participating for the very first time, representing every nation.
It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.
There are many women who came before me who didn't really have the same opportunities that I have had. That's why I always wanted to be a great ambassador - not only today's generation - but for the women who really didn't have a voice, but who paved the way for me.
Finally, if you want to write, you have to just shut up, pick up a pen, and do it. I'm sorry there are no true excuses. This is our life. Step forward. Maybe it's only for ten minutes. That's okay. To write feels better than all the excuses.
One thing I've tried to never do is make wish lists. I try to have a very steppingstone mentality about this_x000D_ whole thing, where as soon as you make one step you visualize the next step, not five steps ahead.
The only magic we have is what we make in ourselves, the muscles we build up on the inside, the sense of belief we create from nothing.
... I must begin at whatever pace is possible, to work on the book of my own that i vaguely keep assuming lies at the end of the rainbow. It is after all my rainbow and if I don't do it no one else will...Survival is the secret so you really can't afford to doubt yourself for long because you are all you've got. The only thing to do is to go the limit with it. Exceed.
The resistance is not something to be avoided, it's something to seek out.
If progress is to be steady we must have long term guides extending far ahead.
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