Gen Y Speaks by Shanti Pereira: How I learnt to build resilience, both on and off the track

The tears that flowed once I crossed the finish line at the 19th Asian Games on Oct 2, 2023, pretty much said it all. 
It was the cherry on top of a magical 2023 season: I broke national records and personal bests, I championed the continent on a few occasions, heard Majulah Singapura play from atop those podiums and, sweetest of all, qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 
For context, this does not come by very often. Athletes generally don’t see this many successes and continued breakthroughs in such a short period of time. But that’s just how it is in a sport: It’s normal not to see progress for a while.      
With that, I have so many people to thank for a truly magical year: My coach, family, sport science team, and the list goes on. 
     
I have myself to thank, too. I owe my success to my younger self, who had to go through years of doubt, desolation, and unlucky circumstances in order to get here. But all those experiences only made her stronger than ever before. 
A lot of people know me as Singapore’s Sprint Queen — a title I first got in 2013 when I became the first woman to run the 100m event in under 12 seconds and the 200m in 24 seconds. 
This label gained even more traction after I clinched Singapore’s first sprint gold at the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Before that, we hadn’t won one in 42 years. 
This was a pivotal time in my track and field journey. I was launched into both the athletic scene as well as the public eye, and from this point on, I got a taste of what being in high-performance sports is like. 
I stepped onto a new track, one that came with amazing opportunities, incredible exposure, and a pathway to pursue this sport long-term. 
But it also came with a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure, both external and internal, which I was neither prepared for nor had the experience to fully understand and accept. 
Perhaps it was arrogance; perhaps it was just a lack of dealing with the immense pressures following a remarkable feat. 
Regardless of what it was, when I could not uphold the same title of SEA Games Gold Medallist in 2017, I felt like a complete failure. I thought I no longer had what it took to be Singapore’s Sprint Queen. 
At the same time, I was coming off a less than ideal coach-athlete relationship and other life struggles, including the loss of two academic scholarships within a week of each other. I had to figure out how I was going to settle my tuition fees, along with extra cash for spending and saving. 
All these setbacks made for some rough years as a young adult. I found myself at such a loss of what to do and who I was.
     
I succumbed to what others thought of my abilities, giving them the power to dictate what I should do with my life. I questioned everything about myself, to the point where I became so afraid of even approaching the start line. 
My mind was stuck in a cloud of fear and uncertainty: Once I crossed the finish line, would another wave of disappointment kick in? Would people say I was weak, that I was not good enough?
Right before the 31st SEA Games in May 2022, something clicked. 
“Who cares?” I realised. “Who cares what people think? Why am I allowing them to define who I am? I started track 18 years ago because I loved it — why should I let people who matter the least to me determine my next steps?” 
     
Suddenly, my mind was clear. I knew exactly what I had to do, and how to do it. 
I started to look at my failures and mistakes less as weaknesses, but more as strengths — points of my life that I could learn from to become more of a master in my speciality, and to become a better version of myself. 
Why bother wallowing in self-pity when there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it anymore? I can’t change the past, so why not think instead about how to do better in the future? 
I’ve never thought that resilience is something people are born with — but I did think of it as something everyone organically builds simply by experiencing setbacks, failures and mistakes. 
What I’ve learned is that resilience is a result of actually learning from these setbacks and failures and choosing to alter your path ahead of you for the better. 
I was no longer afraid, and I found my love for the sport again. 
Fast forward to January 2024: I successfully defended my 200m SEA Games title two years in a row (2022 and 2023) and earned the gold in the 100m in 2023 as well. 
I ran the 200m in under 23 seconds for the first time, became Singapore’s first Asian Champion in both events, made it to the semifinals of the World Championships, qualified for the Olympics and earned the 200m Gold and 100m Silver at the 19th Asian Games — all while setting personal bests, national and championship records in the process. 
The best part is that I am nowhere near done.      
I’m now training towards the next big thing: The 2024 Paris Olympics in July. I’m having the time of my life — all because I decided to live my life for myself, not for others. 
High expectations and tough pressures are part and parcel of being an athlete, so I now cope with it by accepting it for what it is — something that naturally occurs when achieving something great in the public eye that is simply beyond my control. 
So, I’ve stopped trying to control the expectations, pressures, and the comments from strangers on the Internet.
Instead, I focus on the things that I can control: My training and competition plans, my personal routines, staying disciplined and consistent in my habits, and my attitude and adaptability. 
In professional sports, hard work is not enough.
Being an athlete is not confined to time spent on the track. It’s a 24/7 job, placing my sport as a priority above everything else and continually working on recovery, which is just as important as showing up to the track, if not more so.
It requires big lifestyle changes, and an intentional change in perspective of what I do.
Gearing up for Paris 2024, my plans for the year are made up of large sacrifices.
I have to spend the majority of my time overseas, away from friends and family, missing events and milestones along the way. I have to stay disciplined with my time and routines on a daily basis — no late nights, no casual drinking, and eating right, all of which can be hard to maintain for months on end. 
Because of these demands, my circle of friends has naturally grown smaller — but I’m not upset about it, because the people who have remained truly understand my lifestyle and have shown that they will support me no matter what.
The inaugural Singapore Resilience Study, released in September 2023 by Income Insurance Limited and Centre for Research on Successful Ageing at the Singapore Management University, categorises resilience into four domains — physical, mental, financial and social. 
Personally, I see that all four types are important for each of us to be empowered to overcome the challenges we face in life. 
Ultimately, I do not regret those seven years of hardship because they have made me into the person I am today, and I’m proud of that. 
To anyone out there who may be struggling to find your footing again — don’t be afraid to accept your mistakes, learn from them and come back stronger.
One of the lessons my past struggles have taught me is to be more prudent in my spending and save as much as I can for the future. It’s true that sports careers don’t last as long as others do, but all I can do is to, again, focus on the things I can control. 
I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I can see a steady pay cheque, racing bonuses and additional media engagements. I have paid back my student loans entirely, and saved up enough to begin making investments that will help me build the future I want, whatever obstacles and hardships I may face.  
I take these lessons with me throughout every single point of my life.
In my sport and my life now — and in the future, when I eventually retire — my strategies will remain the same. I will focus on the things within my control, embrace every single opportunity that I get, appreciate the people around me and enjoy the process, no matter what it might be.
Regardless of who’s watching on the sidelines of my life, it’s me on the track, putting one foot in front of the other. Only I have the power to determine what happens in my journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Shanti Pereira, 27, is Singapore’s “Sprint Queen” with multiple national records and medals at the SEA Games. She is the fastest Southeast Asian woman ever in the 100m and 200m events. She represented Singapore at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the 200m event. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, she won a Gold in the 200m event and Silver in the 100m. At the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, she won a double Gold in the 100m and 200m.