Anna Gibson on Her “What If” Mentality
It’s easy for the mind to play tricks on us. “What if…
I fail.”
I let my team down.”
I fall.”
But, what if we reframed those thoughts into something positive to help us show up on competition day confident? And believing for the best and positive outcome?
“What if…
I succeed.”
I contribute to my team.”
I grow stronger.”
That’s exactly the mentality that first-time skimountaineering (skimo) Olympian Anna Gibson relies on and is bringing into her first Olympic Games next month.
Confidence Over Time
For Gibson, her confidence comes from her experience. The good. The bad. The ugly. No matter what happens, there is always a lesson she can draw from it.
“Every time I go out and compete, if things don’t go the way I want them to, I at least walk away having gathered information—about myself, about the situation, about what I might do differently next time,” Gibson says. “And then when things do go well, that obviously builds confidence too. You’re like, okay, I can do that—what else can I do? It becomes this constant process of learning more about yourself.”
Runner Turned Skimountaineer
Gibson wasn’t always a skier. In fact, she competed at the University of Washington as an excellent cross country and track athlete and five time All-American. When reflecting on those moments of competing, affirmations on the starting line kept her calm and confident under pressure. “No one has trained harder than I have. No one wants to do well here more than I do,” she’d tell herself.
And Gibson is no stranger to intense challenges too. She was injured for her first two years in collegiate running. She contemplated retirement, but ultimately chose to come back to the sport. When making her come back from injury, she knew she had to reframe her mindset.
“I had to mentally wrap my head around the idea that the results wouldn’t always reflect my abilities—at least not right away. But there’s no way around it. You have to put yourself out there. There’s no shortcut through that process,” says Gibson.
It’s about trusting yourself through the highs and lows. Like Gibson says, you will get better. It just may take time. Consistently showing up for yourself helps build that confidence over time.
And when she decided to make a leap to skimountaineering? Gibson didn’t let fear of trying a new sport stop her. The skills required for skimo – endurance, speed, and power were skills Gibson excelled at. In her young competitive days, she grew up in Nordic ski racing and downhill racing too. For Gibson, making this transition “just made sense.”
That decision still came with doubt. Helping Team USA qualify for the Olympics is no small feat.
“What really helped was reframing the risk. If I tried skimo and failed to help Team USA qualify for the Olympics, that would honestly be expected. No one would be surprised. But if we did succeed? That would be incredible.”
Gibson decided to go all-in. Imagining the positive outcome outweighed the potential negative. Reframing the risk allowed her to train and compete with freedom, confidence, and without fear.
The Courage to Go All In
When facing moments of fear or the unknown, Gibson reiterates that you have a choice to frame your thoughts. “But something that’s really stuck with me is the idea that imagining a future of success is a choice—just like imagining failure is.”
“For me, I try to set my mindset early. I think about what if we succeed? What if we win? What if I’m out in front? Instead of spiraling into a “what if I crash, what if I break a pole, what if I get a penalty?” mindset.
Reframing your thoughts takes practice, but the return is confidence. And by betting on herself, risking failure, and showing up fully, Gibson shows just how powerful that choice can be.
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