Entrepreneurship
Jump physical and mental barriers like Hazal Nehir
Turkish parkour star Hazal Nehir shares her infectious positivity in a Red Bull Basement Sessions podcast about achieving goals, overcoming obstacles and gaining confidence.
Hazal Nehir is a standout athlete in parkour, the creative sport that’s all about using skillful movements to run, climb and jump over obstacles in the most efficient way possible. But as physically demanding as jumping across roof gaps and back-flipping off walls may be, Nehir believes that parkour is actually 80 percent mental.
That makes her a perfect subject for the Red Bull Basement Sessions podcast, where ingenious game-changers from the worlds of sport, business and technology discuss their mindset, their motivations and what it takes to make a difference.
Hazal Nehir
© Nuri Yılmazer
Here are some of Nehir’s tips for anyone facing challenges:
Keep your eyes, and your mind, open to the possibilities
“When I’m outside, I’m always looking for spots, jumps, walls," she says. "Wherever I see something, I take a picture of it, and then I edit my to-do list." She also gets ideas through social media, saying: “There are a lot of athletes sharing amazing stuff, and I get inspired.”
Understand your abilities and believe in yourself
On one shoot, Nehir needed to jump a roof gap but was distracted by the four-storey drop. “I was not really concentrating on the landing wall because I was scared,” she remembers. Fortunately, experienced and trusted friends reminded Nehir of her skills and convinced her that she had the power to make it. With her confidence bolstered, she calmly made the jump.
In the podcast, Nehir tells a great story about another shoot – a movie with director Michael Bay and actor Ryan Reynolds – where she went completely out of her comfort zone for what she describes as the most embarrassing moment of her life. (She came away with a stunt award nomination, nonetheless.)
Create a staircase of goals
More on confidence-building from Nehir: “I have a to-do list with a lot of jumps, and this is my goal list – different goals of different levels,” she explains. “I try to start with the easier goals, and then the next goal, and the next goal, and this way I get to bigger goals without having stress. So everything is like a staircase.”
Do something you enjoy, and be in the moment
When it comes to Nehir’s main motivation, she says: “Having fun doing the sport is the most important thing.” And what’s in her own future? Nehir answers: “I think I’m just going to push myself more, mentally and physically – and hopefully make history.”
The podcast is part of the global Red Bull Basement programme that empowers student innovators to kickstart their ideas to drive positive change.
You can discover two seasons of the podcast here and follow Red Bull Basement Sessions on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon and wherever you listen to podcasts.
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