INSPIRATIONAL HUMAN- Chelsea Jaensch

This week I’m getting up close and personal with the beautiful Chelsea Jaensch.

I absolutely love connecting with like-minded people, and the moment I met this genuine, beautiful soul sista through the Lululemon Ambassador Program we got along like a house on fire. How could I not, she is one of the nicest humans on the planet and for someone who is smashing massive goals she is so incredibly down to earth and humble, I am so grateful to have her as a big inspo in my life.

If you havnt had the pleasure of following this amazing woman’s journey, Chelsea is one of Australia’s newest long jump sensations. A solid breakthrough season in 2015 saw her claim her maiden national title and from there she went on to represent Australia in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In my opinion...she's a bit of a big deal!

“I believe my goals can be achieved through concise planning, focus, hard work and life balance. It’s important to be smart about these things”

If you need a bit of inspo in your day read on for more nuggets of wisdom and get to know this inspirational human!

You achieved your goal of making it to the Rio Olympics last year tell us about your experience

It was awesome. An absolute rollercoaster of a journey! I put a lot of pressure on myself early in the season to qualify, and when I did, it all became a reality, I could hardly believe it. I was going to become an Olympian! In the lead up to the games, I was also battling a foot injury which made each week a mission in regards to keeping fit, strong and healthy. There is nothing more satisfying than pushing yourself to your limit, then being rewarded with your childhood dream. Rio was a busy, disorganised games, and the competition was tough. The stadium had a nervous, underwhelming energy about it, and the moment of competing felt like it came and went in an instant. I will never forget the surreal elation I felt when I walked into that stadium. To represent my country at the biggest event in the world almost had me in disbelief. I finished 17th out of 32. I was disappointed, however when I consider everything I'd been through to just to get there (like carrying a foot fracture for most of me lead up), it's a moment I am insanely proud of and will always deeply treasure.

How does it feel when you’re there competing at such an Elite level?

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't surreal. It's hard to focus on your task when you realise there are thousands of spectators watching you, not to mention millions of viewers at home, watching from all over the world. And then you are competing against girls you idolise or have seen before on TV. I was so nervous initially, I couldn't feel my limbs or face and all I could hear was my heart beat. On top of this I wanted to explode with pride. It was an unbelievable moment and I loved every minute of it.

How do you spend your down time and cultivate self-love in your life?

I love to sleep. And when I'm not sleeping I'm hanging out with friends or my handsome man, and best friend Sam. He and I have a passion for food and wine, so if we aren't cooking something epic, we are tasting wine or working in the garden on our veggie patch. We also love to adventure, ride bikes and relax down the beach with some cool tunes.

When are you happiest?

I am happiest when everything I'm doing each day resonates with my values fun, composed and proud. People often think I'm happiest when I'm healthy and winning competitions. Sometimes this might be true, but if I'm not having fun with what I'm doing, I'm not proud of what I'm doing and who I am, and I'm not being composed with my interactions with life, I'm not happy at all, I'm only ticking boxes.

What are you tips for staying healthy and performing at your best?

"be kind to yourself". As an individual we demand so much from ourselves and it's hard to realise it's ok to take the foot off the pedal. I make sure I'm nourished with healthy food, enjoying solid sleep and keeping my mind clutter free. This enables me to be fresh for competition and training, and allows me to focus on my performance.

Who has impacted you the most in your career/life so far?

I don't know. I don't actually feel there is one person that I can attribute to feeling most impacted by. I have had a lot of people impart some wonderful words of wisdom on me which has helped me become a better athlete. I have also had some that have invested a chunk of their life into me to grow me into the athlete and person I am today. These people are namely my parents (Jane and Craig), family (Partner Sam & siblings Courtney, Caitlin, Cendal and Callan), closest friends, coaches of past (Richard Bednall) and present (Gary Bourne), idols of my sport (Bronwyn Thompson) and life influencers that I have met along the way.

What’s the biggest nugget of wisdom you have been given?

"No Regrets". If you feel you will regret not doing something, you should do it. There's nothing worse than wondering what could have been.

Did you meet anyone interesting/famous while you were in Rio?

There were a lot of famous people in the village, from so many different sports. It's hard to not fan girl when they too are there as an athlete to compete. My favorite famous encounter was meeting Usain Bolt at the training track. He and his squad were taking turns warming up in the lanes with myself and fellow jumper Brooke. When I saw he was free, I ran over and asked for a sneaky pic. He was more than obliging. Such a friendly, chilled and fun athlete, not to mention the greatest of all time. I was smiling all day!

Do you Yoga?

Yes! I practice mostly restorative/yin yoga. My sport requires me to have high levels of muscle-tendon stiffness which is excellent for speed and power. Doing too much yoga can decrease my physical capabilities in this area, so I yoga occasionally to help my body recover and also to balance out my mind from work and training stress.

What’s the best advice you would give anyone wanting to achieve big goals?

Dream big... then do. Big goals are definitely ok, and often in pursuit of them, new doors of opportunity can open up. Nothing is worse than sitting and wondering, or regretting what might have been.

If you want to do something, write your goal down and commit to it using language like ‘I will, I can’. Be specific and be passionate. Write a timeline for when you want it achieved by, and write down all the steps you need to take and things you must achieve in order to get there. Record the timeframe for achieving each step. Then, tell someone about it, which makes you accountable for achieving your goal. Write these goals up on a board, look at them every day; and no, it’s not silly to do that at all! Look at how much time you need each week to commit to your goal and see if it fits in with your work. If it does, do both with intent and create your optimal environment. If it doesn’t, you have the power to change your work life balance to do both. If you fail. that’s ok. reassess. Most people fail before succeeding. and If you lose heart with your goal, have a look at the other pathways and opportunities that attacking it has opened for you.

What’s next for Chels?

The 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast is my best big goal. I'm currently recovering from foot surgery, so all things being well, I want to be back competing again for Australia.