We recently connected with Krystal Edwards and have shared our conversation below.
Krystal , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Starting at a young age, I worked hard at what I needed to do. I’ve always enjoyed practicing to better improve my skills. As a figure skater, I’ve learned to acquire self-motivation and mind control ( but that’s always a work in progress).
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started figure skating at the age of five. I skated competitively up until I was sixteen. Even though I loved the sport, I definitely had some obstacles along the way (Injuries, mental health, toxic training environments, etc). At that point in my life, I made the decision to take a break from competing. I did not train for almost four years. During my break, I was able to re-evaluate my perspective on not just figure skating, but also on life. I grew myself as a person by growing my relationship with God. For the first time in a long time, I gained self-confidence and built up the courage to start training again competitively. My first competitive season back, I had no expectations. I did one competition which surprisingly qualified me to compete at Sectionals which then qualified me to compete at the US National Championships. One of my longtime goals was to compete on the main arena at Nationals. With determination, hard work, and passion, I achieved that goal. I am grateful I came back to skating and gave it another chance. Figure skating has been apart of my life for many years. I was once a little girl with a pair of rental skates and a pink helmet. Now, as I continue to train as a skater myself, I am delighted to coach the next generation. I’ve had my up’s and down’s, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It has shaped me into the person I am today. It has been a memorable journey- a journey that is not over yet.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Passion, Resilience, and Discipline are three qualities I would say were the most impactful that helped me through my journey. I’ve always been a perfectionist, (which at times backfired) but I’ve realized it’s not the end of the world to make a mistake. It’s how you learn and improve. Whether it’s a sport, a business, a school, etc, my biggest advice would be “believe in the impossible”. If you believe you can – you will. Stay focused on your goals, persevere through tough times, and most importantly love what you do and don’t give up.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I believe both are equally important. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. As a figure skating coach, I know I have my strengths, but there’s always areas to better improve my knowledge and skill set.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @krystalrose.e
Image Credits
I want to thank my family for always supporting me on my journey. Thank you BoldJourney for sharing my story!
