Holly Ferling | Overcoming perfectionism by leading from the inside-out

Welcome to episode 15 of the IEP. Our guest this week is Australian, QLD and Melbourne Stars fast bowler Holly Ferling. Holly didn't follow the normal path of a cricketer working through the ranks of state cricket to play for Australia, instead, she found herself playing for Aus at the young age of 17. She has since battled a number of injuries, constantly in and out of teams and fighting her way back to bowling at her best for QLD and the Melbourne Stars. She is honestly one of the most genuine and kind people I've ever, however behind that big smile is a gritty character who works incredibly hard. A self-confessed perfectionist, Holly has battled with the dark sides of her identity being wrapped up in being a high achiever,  however, through the journey she has learned so much about herself, what she values, and the way she wants to go about life on and off the field. She has done some of the work that we talk about so much here at the Inside Edge Project and is starting to see some really cool benefits in her wellbeing and performance. As always feel free to reach out to Holly or myself if you have any questions or feedback. I hope you enjoy it!

Topics covered:

• Having consistent injuries for 5+ years and how she was worked through them
  • "When you're just about getting up to perform, you start to struggle to believe you can do it. You almost lower your expectations, what will be will be…it is not lowering your standards, but lowering your expectations."
• Debuting for Australia so easy and managing the expectations that come with that
  • "That expectation has hindered me in those following years. In what you deem to be good enough."
• Dealing with the expectation that comes with being a high achiever
  • "You constantly feel this weight over you the whole time, and really, all that was expectation" 
  • "There was a while there I was chasing performance at the detriment of who I really was"
• The impact on focusing on her values of Love, Impact, and Improvement. How they have transformed her performance and wellbeing
• How she deals with missing out  on squads. The perfect example of post-traumatic growth!

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Seeing sport grow in professionalism has brought so many benefits in the world of high-performance. However, this constant search for the next edge in high performance has led to more analysis, more box-ticking and more distractions than ever before.

The Inside Edge Podcast aims to explore how the best in the world navigate all the noise to consistently perform in the most rugged and high-pressure environments. The purpose? To bring back enjoyment, simplicity and connection. To help the next generation live from the inside-out, have the courage to be themselves and simply enjoy the journey.