Sarah Wells thought the Olympics was going to be her biggest challenge, but in retrospect they were just laying the groundwork for something bigger.
"Every student is going through their own challenges where we all face obstacles and feel like our hands are tied," she said following a presentation at East Three School. "It's important we help them realize those circumstances don't have to define their outcome and they have the power to get back up and find another way.
"Not everything's going to be in their control, but recognizing what is and how you can better that environment allows you to get a bit closer to success."
Wells was in Inuvik Feb. 24-25 to present to the school as part of her Believe! Initiative, where she helps students identify their passions and brainstorm ways to reach them.
She said she was motivated in part by her epiphany from not making the Canadian Olympic team the second time.
"I share my Olympic journey on the importance of falling down and choosing to get back up and not letting the current circumstances define that outcome," she said. "We talk to students about the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in yourself. We have a full day of workshops around mindset, overcoming self-doubt and finding your own leadership style.
"My most recent experience at my second Olympics, I still believed in myself and I didn't achieve my goal — that doesn't make it any less valuable, because I realized I believed in myself more strongly because I was still willing to get up and stand on the start line regardless of whether I knew the outcome or not.
"The line I give them is that hard work won't always lead to success, but being resilient will always lead to another opportunity for success."
Part of how she encourages the students to keep motivated is having a mantra or word to keep them on track — for example, Wells has the word 'Believe' she uses to ground herself. She also advises people feeling down to do something physical to get endorphins flowing.
Another aspect of her tour is trying to reduce the gap between mere mortals and Olympians, showing students that they too can reach the podium if they're determined enough.
"I think it's important that we remove the pedestal, Olympians fail too," she said. "My most recent experience of the Olympic games was failure and I hope to debunk the idea that we're these superhuman creatures. We're all facing challenges where we have to believe in ourselves, where there's obstacles out of our control and we don't have to let that define our outcome."
Part of the RBC Future Launch program, Wells noted Inuvik was the only NWT stop on her Canada-wide tour, with other stops including 14 other stops across the country. Though she noted she had an ulterior motive to coming this far north.
"This is our final stop," she said. "My sister Athena lives up here, so it's kind of fun that I get to do this and get to see her too."
Wells will be back to check up on the students passion projects in May.