There are inspiring personalities that we look up to, trying to identify the fragments from their stories that fit into our lives. These role models are professionals who have built impeccable careers or athletes who have transformed the competition in their field, motivating us to strive for our ambitions.
However, have you ever heard of an inspirational personality who is a successful athlete with a thriving engineering career? I bet you haven’t seen many who bring the best of both worlds, quite like Jessica Claflin.
Having competed at prestigious North American, European, and World championships, she has solidified her position as an accomplished snipe sailor on the global stage. In her successful engineering career, she has garnered extensive expertise in the field of biomedical devices, primarily focusing on research and design.
Her impressive portfolio includes contributions to a wide array of projects, including the development of innovative solutions such as insulin pens, insulin pumps, bone marrow concentrators, endometrial ablation devices, balloon sinuplasty surgical tools, women’s incontinence therapy devices, robot-assisted surgical devices, LVADs (heart pumps), CardioMEMS devices, and Sleep Apnea devices.
Astonishing, isn’t it, accomplishing such all-around success? Jessica attributes this to five qualities she developed by learning from her experiences and fusing the lessons with her core values.
Working Around Limitations
Hurdles and limitations often hold you back on the path to success. Trying to brute force our way through is not always successful. We can end up wasting a lot of time and energy trying to tackle the problems head-on.
Jessica takes a different approach to the matter. Instead of exerting herself, she opts for finding a workaround. Smartly and efficiently bypassing the hurdles, she thrived as an engineer, working for the most cutting-edge biomedical companies, and accomplished her sailing dream despite the challenges.
Discipline
From the smallest goals to the biggest ambitions, discipline holds absolute value. Jessica has made discipline a part of her spirit. Imagine juggling college and international racing, earning an MSc in Fluid and Thermal Sciences while preparing for the Olympics; one can only achieve such a feat if discipline is uncompromised.
Perseverance
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance,” a classic quote by Samuel Johnson, perfectly describes perseverance. If you discontinue your efforts due to failures, you guarantee your defeat.
Jessica endured her fair share of failures. However, being who she is, she considered them opportunities to evolve. Whether it was about navigating her earlier years through dyslexia or hurdles in raising funds for her Olympic campaign, she never gave up and always came out on top.
Goal-Oriented Mindset
If you don’t have a clear goal, you’ve already doubled your chances of failure. Translating your ambition into defined, trackable, and tangible goals is necessary. The method to orient is simple; transform your mindset to align it with the requirements of your goals. Jessica aligned her mindset with both her athletic and engineering careers, achieving outstanding success in both.
Self-Competition
Self-competition is not merely about breaking your record or scoring higher than your previous attempt. It is about evolving your abilities. Analyze yourself critically, find your faults, and refine your skills accordingly. It’s about competing with yourself, something much more demanding than competing with a rival. Jessica challenged herself on multiple fronts, intensifying the competition and advancing her abilities in the process.
These five qualities have proven to be a winning formula for Jessica. However, everyone’s journey is unique, and what we learn from the challenges we face is equally important. Finding the right balance between our experiences and these qualities is the key to unlocking our arsenal for triumph.
Check out her Instagram to learn more about how these qualities helped her develop a vibrant and admirable life.