Britt Simmerman
Topeka, KS
Event: Conquer the Gauntlet OCR, Wichita, KS
Date: July 15, 2017
"The fear of being judged for "letting myself go" is so immense that I've stop seeing myself as a fierce competitor. I want that to change."
Britt's "Why"
My name is Britt, and I am starting to realize that the answer to "who are you?" has too often become my job title and not actually anything relevant to my core self. My job IS awesome (I'm a lawyer by training and an assistant athletic director at a university), and I love the interactions I have every single day. I've cycled the US twice for a non-profit (Bike & Build), played collegiate soccer, practiced kempo and jiu jitsu, and suffered through 3 sessions of hot yoga (too hot for me!). However, at my core, I'm just an intensely sincere and sincerely intense person looking to find adventures, big and small, in life. I love sharing life with my fiance, our animals, our friends and relatives. I try to learn just as much as I teach and listen as much as I talk, which is sometimes easier said than done in our world. As Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
It Takes a Village
I have always been an "athlete" and excelled at pretty much everything. I never, in a million years, thought that I would find myself "out of shape." Here I am, though, realizing that I spent all those years trying to tell people that getting into shape was just about getting out and doing something, but struggle to find the motivation to do so myself. I blame my knee (reconstructive surgery and another cleanup surgery so far) and my hip (fractured on my 1st cross-country cycling trip) for pain, but my biggest enemy is my own insecurity now. The fear of being judged for "letting myself go" is so immense that I've stop seeing myself as a fierce competitor. I want that to change. I am getting married on July 28, 2017, and I want to be healthy with and for my fiance. I want to show my student-athletes that life after college doesn't mean you stop competing or that excuses are now suddenly allowed because you are "too busy" to take time for yourself. I've let my titles get in the way of my life, and I want to fight for adventure again. I want to be daring, everyday, in some way again.
I think people are truly fearful of failure, and I fall very squarely into that category. As a leader, I've been looked to for guidance on how to succeed, how to achieve, and how to win, but just as important is how to conquer fear. I think I am at my most vulnerable state physically, and the opportunity to fail is large, but that is what is most inspiring to me- people who look at things and choose to TRY rather than choose to hide. I don't think there is failure when you choose to try and give everything you have. Failing is being afraid to live and adventure and work hard.
#liveforaliving in motion
If money wasn't an object, what would I change?
I would love to write a book about my cycling trips and then continue writing about everyday adventures as well. I would also like to teach student-athlete leadership development courses/workshops/etc. so that college-aged student-athletes can harness the lessons they have learned in sport and apply them to life, in both work and play.
Want to get involved?
Do you know someone who embodies the Live for a Living spirit deserving of sponsorship? Maybe you would you like to offer your support? Learn more about #LLSP on the Live for a Living Sponsorship Program page, and get involved. You're only changing the world with us. That's all...
