Ask for Help and Keep Learning

There were times when I was emotionally and physically walking into a wall. After disappointing results I could become negative, judge other players, lose my confidence and even consider stopping. Trying harder wasn't always the answer.

Professional help was important. Sports psychologist Jef Brouwers influenced how I felt about performance. Ellen Schouppe helped me after a breakdown in 2017, when I thought about quitting and no longer wanted to pick up my hockey stick. I left an internship of the national team and had to understand the resentment and emotion I carried. Later, after my serious concussion, missing out on Olympic gold while my teammates won it, and difficult conflicts with players and coaches, I began working with Eline Berings to continue developing toward the best version of myself.

My personal trainer Majid helped me build a stronger body and a stronger relationship with hard work. Books, coaches, mentors, teammates, spiritual ideas and writing all became ways of seeing myself from a different angle. Writing forced me to slow my mind.

Growth accelerates when curiosity becomes stronger than ego.

A coach sees what you don't see from your own motion. A psychologist can help identify patterns under performance. A book can give language to something you've felt for years.

Knowledge only becomes useful when it changes behavior. Listen wide, test carefully, keep what makes you more effective and grounded, and let go of what doesn't.