What This N.S. Olympian Taught Resident Doctors About Reaching Their Goals
HALIFAX – In the year 2000, Karen Furneaux got to live every athlete’s dream when she competed in the Sydney Olympics. The world-class kayaker finished fifth that year, so close to a spot on the podium. For the Waverley, Nova Scotia, native, competing on the grandest athletic stage was a dream come true – one that started 16 years prior when she was just eight years old.
Now, the three-time Olympian, and two-time World Champion, spends her time motivating others, and teaching them the habits they need to achieve their greatest goals. Furneaux is the founder of I Promise Performance, where she gets to step into the role of an inspirational speaker and mentor.
“I have a passion to help; to share my experiences – what I’ve learned, what I’ve gleaned through all of that sport experience, and now 11 years of business experience as well,” said Furneaux, who has also competed in 17 world championships.
“There’s a lot of tiny little goals; daily things that we can be doing to make that dream a reality. And that goes for any goal or any endeavor that we’re working towards.”
During her business career, Furneaux has been asked to inspire and motivate some important clients. Just last month, the Olympian was asked to speak, virtually, to a group of resident physicians throughout the Maritimes.
Leanne Bryan is the manager of health and wellness for the group Maritime Resident Doctors. She thought Furneaux was able to relate to her audience by comparing the multi-year grind both competitive athletes and doctors in training must go through to reach their ultimate goal.
“We were looking to hearing her speak and inspire them and speak about the emotional highs and lows of her Olympic journey and how that related to a physician in residency, which there is a lot of similarities.”
“She was engaging and practical in her messaging. She talked about her four-year grind between Olympics and what that was like, preparing for the Olympics. She drew that parallel between the four-year grind of her training and that of residency training.”
As an added bonus, the doctors in attendance received a copy of Furneaux’s book Strong Beauty: Power Up the Champion Within, which was published in 2018.
On top of the speaking events that make up much of her business, Furneaux also has a program called “Strong Beauty,” where she helps empower young women to meet their goals. This is an issue that hits home to Furneaux. Despite now being a confident person in public, it wasn’t always that way for her. When she was a teenager, she was terrified of public speaking until she learned to deal with her nervous energy.
“I actually struggled a lot in my high school-age and into university. So, reaching out to that age group and offering some assistance is important to me,” she explains.
“I was a very shy kid. I would never put up my hand to even ask a question. I was nervous to speak out in public. So, it’s funny that I chose this as a profession. I’ve worked with lots of professionals on the sports psychology side, as well as doing my own research and experiences as well to help manage that nervous energy and to use it for fuel.”
In the Strong Beauty program, Furneaux teaches these young women “five secrets” to success in sports, academics, and life. She teaches them how to set smarter goals for themselves and, just as important, increase their optimism and self-confidence.
While working with young women, and young men, Furneaux found that today’s youth face challenges surrounding the prevalence of social media and smart devices. Unlike any other generation, teenagers today are constantly connected to the world digitally. This can be a source of both distraction and anxiety.
“There’s a lot more that happens online, today, compared to when I was competing,” says Furneaux. “We have to, very consciously, turn away and close our phones and social media…That kind of constant information was not normal when I was growing up and competing.”
“It’s a different challenge, but you can still develop some skills around that, and boundaries to help with that too.”
Whether it’s adults in a corporate setting, or youth in a school setting, Karen believes it’s important for everyone to establish a healthy routine to reach their goals. And establishing a good routine during Covid-19 is more important than ever. Furneaux advises people who are working from home that there are simple steps one can take to stay productive.
“Creating, first and foremost, a routine for yourself, so you can continue to perform; creating a productive workspace, whether that’d be in an open room…but getting that set up specifically for you,” she says.
Even Furneaux, herself, has had to change the way she does business. Being able to speak to large groups in person is no longer possible under health restrictions. But the former Olympic athlete has enjoyed being able to inspire a variety of people virtually.
“So, I’m doing a lot of online, virtual, presenting around the topic of owning your performance and some resilience and well-being skills to manage challenging times,” explains Furneaux.
“There were some slow periods for sure. But now I find organizations and teams are wanting that resilience framework and training that I offer.”