Skip to main content

Motivation Quote by Nancy Kerrigan

"Falling down became second nature and it really didn't bother me"

About this Quote

Nancy Kerrigan speaks from a world where grace is built on bruises. Figure skating demands repeated attempts at elements that flirt with the limits of balance, rotation, and timing. Jumps are learned through hundreds of imperfect tries; edges catch, blades slip, and the body meets the ice. By saying falling down became second nature, she describes a trained familiarity with failure. The body learns to fall safely, the mind learns not to catastrophize, and progress is measured not by avoiding mistakes but by extracting information from each one.

There is a quiet defiance in it. Many people treat a fall as a verdict; an elite skater treats it as data. Desensitization is not numbness but an adaptive skill: fear loses its sting, embarrassment fades, and attention returns to the mechanics of the next attempt. Did not bother me signals emotional regulation and a performance mindset. The goal is not to feel nothing, but to prevent a momentary setback from hijacking the larger process of learning. That habit empowers risk-taking, which is essential for adding difficulty and artistry under pressure.

Her words also lift the veil on the contrast between the spectacle and the grind. Audiences see clean programs and polished lines; the path there is littered with falls that teach body awareness, balance, and air sense. Cultivating indifference to the sting of ice is part of the cost of elegance.

Given Kerrigans career, the sentiment resonates beyond the rink. After the 1994 assault and the extraordinary public scrutiny that followed, she returned to compete and won Olympic silver. The line is not a direct reference to that episode, yet it echoes a broader resilience: setbacks, whether physical or public, do not define the arc of effort. Mastery, in skating and in life, often emerges when falling stops feeling like failure and starts functioning as feedback, clearing space for courage, repetition, and eventual lift.

Quote Details

TopicPerseverance
More Quotes by Nancy Add to List
Falling down became second nature and it really didnt bother me
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Nancy Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is a Athlete from USA.

28 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Dick Van Dyke, Actor
Malcolm X, Activist
Small: Malcolm X