If This Doesn’t Make You Believe in Yourself, Nothing Will
Olympic sprinter Shelly Ann Fraser-Price shares her philosophy on building an unstoppable mindset, emphasizing that success comes from deciding to pursue excellence, maintaining high standards regardless of motivation, and viewing failure as essential feedback rather than defeat. She demonstrates how visualization, self-talk, and competing in the present moment rather than being influenced by external voices are critical to achieving extraordinary results.
Summary
In this podcast episode, Mel Robbins interviews legendary track and field athlete Shelly Ann Fraser-Price, an Olympic champion with 19 gold medals who continues competing at elite levels well into her thirties. Fraser-Price explains that her transformation from being a reserve runner in 2007 to an Olympic champion in 2008 came from a fundamental mindset shift: deciding to take ownership of her results rather than worrying about external pressure or blame. She emphasizes that dreaming is often a luxury in environments of scarcity, but that stopping the negotiation with oneself and committing to excellence through consistent small actions is the path forward.
Fraser-Price distinguishes between motivation and standards, arguing that motivation is temporary and fluctuates based on circumstances, while standards are permanent commitments to excellence that should guide behavior on difficult days. She shares that the turning point in her career came when she realized she wanted to own both her wins and losses completely, rather than being one cog in a relay team. This ownership mentality led her to transform her training, nutrition, and mental preparation.
A central theme throughout is visualization as mental preparation. Fraser-Price explains that she visualizes races months in advance, training her mind to see herself executing each step perfectly. She notes that the human mind cannot distinguish between reality and vivid visualization, making mental rehearsal a powerful tool. She also reveals her personal cue for managing pressure: repeating the scripture "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world," which centers her confidence on internal strength rather than external circumstances.
Fraser-Price discusses how she overcame major obstacles, including a fractured sesamoid bone in her foot before the 2016 Olympics and societal pressure regarding motherhood and aging in athletics. She won a World Championship at age 35 after giving birth, proving that motherhood enhanced rather than diminished her career. She reframes pressure as a privilege, arguing that feeling pressure indicates you have something valuable to offer. She emphasizes competing where your feet are—focusing only on the present moment rather than dwelling on past mistakes or worrying about future outcomes.
The athlete stresses that external voices—whether from critics, commentators, or self-doubt—should be tuned out, replaced with one's own internal voice and commitment. She emphasizes that failure is not separate from success but integral to it, providing crucial information about what needs to change. She illustrates this by sharing how losses led to her greatest comebacks and victories.
Fraser-Price concludes by urging listeners to make a conscious decision to pursue their dreams without waiting for permission or perfect conditions. She advocates for doing a brain dump of concerns to clear mental space, competing each day as a new race, and understanding that everyone carries excellence within them by virtue of being created with purpose.
About this episode
This might be one of the greatest conversations Mel has ever had on this podcast. Today, you’re getting an absolute masterclass in motivation from one of the greatest athletes walking this earth: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. If you’ve ever felt self-doubt, pressure, or like your best days are behind you, you’re in the right place. In this conversation, Shelly-Ann does not hold back. Shelly-Ann is the most decorated 100-meter sprinter of all time, male or female. She has won Olympic gold 3 times. She has won 10 gold medals at the World Championships, with 2 of them coming after she gave birth to her son Zyon. She is going to tell you: you are not supposed to be average. You are built for excellence and extraordinary things. But this isn't a conversation about being an athlete. This conversation is about building an unstoppable mindset and being the best version of yourself, no matter where you are in life. In this episode, you’ll learn how to: -Build the mindset of a champion -Use visualization to prepare for high-pressure moments -Stop focusing on constant comparison and worrying about what everyone else is doing -Bounce back after failure -Believe in your dream before anyone else understands it You’ll also hear a powerful message about the power Shelly-Ann gained after becoming a mother and not listening to people who told her she had to choose between motherhood and her career. Get ready, because Shelly-Ann is about to speak directly to your soul and inspire you to become your greatest self. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page. If you liked the episode, check out this one next with Emma Grede: If You Only Listen to One Podcast Today, Make It This One Connect with Mel: Order Mel’s product, Pure Genius Protein Get Mel’s newsletter, packed with tools, coaching, and inspiration. Get Mel’s #1 bestselling book, The Let Them Theory Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Mel on Instagram The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram Mel's TikTok Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes ad-free Disclaimer
Key Insights
- Fraser-Price argues that the crucial shift in her career came when she moved from viewing herself as a reserve team member to claiming complete ownership of her results, both wins and losses.
- She contends that dreaming is a luxury that people in constrained environments must deliberately cultivate, and that deciding to pursue excellence is the first step that makes all other changes possible.
- Fraser-Price distinguishes standards from motivation by claiming that standards are permanent commitments to excellence that persist even when motivation fluctuates, making them the foundation of sustained high performance.
- She describes visualization not as mere positive thinking but as a practice of mentally rehearsing specific actions and sensations months in advance, arguing the brain cannot distinguish between vivid visualization and actual experience.
- Fraser-Price asserts that pressure should be reframed as a privilege indicating that someone believes in your capacity to deliver more, rather than as a burden or threat.
- She explains that feeling overwhelmed comes from simultaneously dwelling in the past and worrying about the future, and that "competing where your feet are" by focusing only on the present moment reduces this pressure.
- Fraser-Price claims that external voices—whether from commentators, critics, or societal expectations—should be treated as white noise, with one's own internal voice being the only authority that matters for decision-making.
- She argues that failure is not the opposite of success but an integral component of it that provides essential feedback about what needs to change, making it impossible to succeed without experiencing failure.
- Fraser-Price demonstrates through her personal experience that motherhood at age 37 and continuing to compete at age 35 as the oldest world champion refutes societal narratives that women must choose between career and family.
- She proposes that consistency in small, intentional daily actions compounds over time to create extraordinary results, with one year of changed approach transforming her from a reserve runner to an Olympic champion.
- Fraser-Price contends that helping oneself win requires focusing exclusively on one's own performance and preparation rather than monitoring what competitors are doing, as attention to competitors diverts energy that could serve one's own victory.
- She claims that rest and recovery are equally important to training for high performance, having experienced career benefits from the physical restoration that came during her pregnancy.
Topics
Transcript
Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. I'm just going to come out and say, you have picked an extraordinary episode to listen to, because today, one of the single greatest athletes the world has ever seen is here in our Boston studios to be your personal coach. And she's going to tell you from the very first word she speaks, you are not supposed to be average. You are built for excellence and extraordinary things. Shelly Ann Frazier Price is one of the greatest athletes of all time. 19 gold medals. She's also the oldest sprinter, man or woman, to win a 100-meter world championship. Every time the world said, it can't be done,…
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