Laurie Hernandez Quotes

The first few years I was competing, I'd ride so well in practice, then choke and fall in competition. Now I take a deep breath and say, 'Look at me. I'm outside. I'm doing what I love.' Still, nothing's matched the pressure I felt standing at the top of the halfpipe for the first time at the Olympics.

I give myself a pep talk and visualize the routine. I tell myself: "I can do this, let's go!"

I still sweat bullets if I go on The Tonight Show, but I tell myself, You can either have fun tonight or you can be shy and miserable. You ask my friends or anyone I work with now - nobody would say I was shy.

Every round I have three little targets. Maybe it is just 'talk to myself properly' or 'stand up straight on the greens.' One day I might say, 'Don't talk to anyone.' On another I'll be a lot chattier. Or I might say, 'smile all the way round.' Little things. But little things turn into bigger things.

Everyone saying, 'She'll bring back women's skating. This will be the one to watch at the Olympics.' And they say things that are so far away, but really, you have to bring it back in and look at the next competition, the next day, what you want to accomplish because if you get too far ahead of yourself, you can trip yourself up.

I am always nervous before the start of a race. It helps me to say to myself to try my very best. That is my commitment. No matter how bad it gets, I will try my hardest.

If I thought about it before I went on, I would have never went on. So, therefore, you don't think about it; you have to talk yourself then into, 'Listen, this is it. This is the gig. Broadway or no Broadway, you've got to do your job.'

I have two bowls of confidence for breakfast each morning.

First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, 'I believe,' three times.

Because winning a gold medal had been a dream of mine since a young age, I needed to empty my mind during the preparation for the Olympics by telling myself that it would be OK not to win a gold medal.

I'm nervous before all games, but once I hit that first shot, the jitters go away.

I was on 'Strictly' because I was getting stage fright. I was taught that I had to imagine what a good outcome would be and be happy with it.

How does one gain confidence? It's just the repetitive nature of telling you how good you are. How good of a putter and chipper you are. How you've got this. You can beat the best players in the world. You've got all the talent. You just have to believe in yourself.

Every time I get scared or feel like I'm not going to be good enough at something, I say that mantra to myself. "Pretend you're good at it."

Write 10 times: 'Fear is my friend. Fear is the energy to do my best in a new situation.' You don't have to believe it; just write it.

Every once a week, I get up and feel that I cannot act any more. I just get very unsure of myself. But, once I give my first shot, I'm back on track. Insecurity isn't bad, it makes me work harder.

The words you speak are powerful. Especially the words you speak to yourself.

Sometimes I feel like an impostor, and I have to remind myself, 'You are able to do this.' I look at the books on the shelf that have my name on them to remind myself I have done it before and, likely, I can do it again.

If you don't have the confidence, that's half the battle. You're going to be defeated before you even start.

I'm a big believer in the power of your own words.

Before important games, I don't change my preparation.

It's interesting: I never got stressed before wrestling matches. I always felt completely confident that I had done everything I could do, all my mental preparations when I sat down and envisioned the match, so I never felt stressed.

Yeah, I'm going to start talking to myself a little bit. Not talking to the opponent as much.

It's flattering to be linked with clubs, the rumours give me confidence but I just try to do my best every game.

Everyone will clearly be a bit nervous and scared before going onstage. But what I do is just remember that this is my passion. Once I get on the stage and see everyone smiling and looking at me, the joy that it brings to me makes me forget all about my nerves.