call this “context,” I call it living in truth.
From the place where I’m waiting
backstage, I can see spotlights and a
crowd of eight thousand. Why did I ever
agree to do this? I look for an exit sign
and pray one word, help, but it’s too late
to escape. As the emcee introduces
me, I sense an inner whisper, “You’re
not here to impress them, you’re here
impress them.”
With those few words, the context
changes. My mind and heart accept the
statement as truth. What my brain first
labeled a threat is now an opportunity.
When we experience fear, we can pause
and ask these three questions:
A few years ago, I talked with a friend in
the middle of an intense struggle. She
kept saying, “I guess this is just who I
am now.” I finally stopped her and said,
“This isn’t who you are, it’s where you
are today. It’s your location, not your
identity.” Shame-based fear tempts us
to hide and keep silent.
If you’re in a hard place too, dare to tell
God and one other person you trust
then get whatever help you need. With
the support of his family and friends,
Goepper went to rehab and came out
stronger, winning silver at the 2018
Olympic Games.
1. What am I saying to myself
right now?
2. Is it true?
3. If not, what is true?
Nick Goepper says, “I like to quote the
verse, ‘I can do all things through Him
who gives me strength.’ I…envision me
skiing and God is kind of like an eagle
right next to me screeching in my ear
that everything is going to be all good.”
Resist Shame and Guilt
Despite his faith, things weren’t “all good”
for Goepper after the 2014 Olympics. He
found himself in a downward spiral of
depression and drinking. He says, “I was
constantly thinking about ways to end
my own life.”
Fear often invites in a different but also
destructive emotion, shame. Surface
fear is about our performance, shame-
based fear is about who we are as
a person. What if we’re inadequate,
unworthy, a failure?
Move Forward Anyway
Nick also faced a series of shoulder
injuries. Alex Cohen, the senior sport
psychologist for the U.S. Olympic
Committee, says, “That return to play
after an injury requires confidence when
an athlete questions whether they have
what it takes to get back there.”
For Olympic athletes, and all of us, hurt
is inevitable; how we respond to it is
optional. Sometimes because of what
Solutions • 11