It might have been easier to retire, to say my knee couldn't handle it and let that be that. At the same time, the prospect of not being able to compete in gymnastics anymore was heartbreaking. Shawn Johnson More Quotes by Shawn Johnson More Quotes From Shawn Johnson As long as you've done your best, making mistakes doesn't matter. You and I are human; we will mess up. What counts is learning from your mistakes and getting back up when life has knocked you down. Shawn Johnson perseverancegymnasticsmistake Stay strong. Stand up. Have a voice. Shawn Johnson stay-strongvoicestrong Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect. Shawn Johnson life-lessongymnasticsresponsibility To have any doubt in your body is the biggest weakness an athlete can have. There are times when I physically can't get myself to go for a skill because I'm thinking, 'My knee hurts really bad.' Shawn Johnson athletehurtthinking Image isn't everything, It's what comes from your heart, and what you learn and what you say and how you act that means more than anything. Shawn Johnson gymnasticsheartmean The body is an amazing machine... If you eat the right things your body will perform incredibly well! Shawn Johnson wellsmachinesbody I don't call them sacrifices. I call them exchanges. Shawn Johnson gymnasticssacrifice To have any doubt in your body is the biggest weakness an athlete can have. Shawn Johnson weaknessathletedoubt I fell in love with gymnastics. I love what I do now. I work with people that I love to be around. Success comes from that. Shawn Johnson gymnasticspeople Gymnastics has made me strong. I feel like it broke me down to my lowest point, but at the same time, it has given me the greatest strength anyone could ask for. Shawn Johnson brokegymnasticsstrong I don't think I've ever not gotten nervous. When you work so hard for one special day or routine, you want to perform it better than you ever have. We always say at our gym, If you lose the nerves, you lose the sport. Shawn Johnson gymnasticsmotivationalsports Don't force anything. Find what you love and stick with it. Shawn Johnson what-you-loveforcesticks I pay attention to my diet to be a healthier gymnast, but I'm not obsessive over it. Shawn Johnson gymnastpayattention Everything for me started with my love of the sport. In society we're losing the fun with kids and pushing success on them too hard. Success comes from fun. Shawn Johnson funsportskids Of course, when you're training your whole life to get to the Olympics, you train for gold. Shawn Johnson olympicstraininggold Something my mom taught me when I was little is that everything happens for a reason. Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected. And those wouldn't have happened had I not accepted my injury as a way to try something new. Shawn Johnson gymnasticsgiving-upmom I had surgery to repair the ACL in February 2010 and was back in the gym by June, but rushed things too quickly and ended up re-tearing my MCL in September. Shawn Johnson februaryseptemberjune I think it's important for girls at a young age to be involved in as many things as possible. Especially safe communities of people that teach them great life lessons like self-confidence and courage. And getting girls to go to camp especially in the summer where they can meet new friends, learn new things, and not just sit at home and watch TV. Shawn Johnson life-lessongirlsummer I was at the Olympic Games winning medals and I still doubted my image. I doubted what I looked like. That's sad. Shawn Johnson stillsgameswinning Injury taught me I need to learn how to face challenges. Shawn Johnson challengesfacesneeds
