There are times we forget to set boundaries. We become so consumed with the life we are living, with the way we are treated, with every day piling up on the last, that we forget we can say no. And that’s something that gymnastics legend Simone Biles can relate to.

Simone Biles has always been open in the media. She’d be active through her social media, speak up about issues, share her life story, her struggles, her highs and lows, and indulge her fans. But what she really needed was to give herself a break.

Simone Biles talks about how a book helped her cope

Simone Biles talked to The Cut last year, opening up about her experience at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and everything leading up to it. The four-time Olympic champion was the world’s favorite gymnast already, crowned the GOAT, and expected to outdo, or at least repeat, her performance at Rio.

But with greatness comes a heavy toll. The expectation of the public, and their criticisms, are a little too much, too overwhelming. Biles talked about the last book she’d read before the interview: ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson. Just like the title suggests, it’s all about taking life with a grain of salt and instead focusing on things that you hold dear.

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“All Downhill From There”- Simone Biles Detailed the Harsh Reality of Gymnastics

“The girls were laughing at me whenever I was reading that, like, ‘You are just so nonchalant about everything now,’” Biles recalled. “Like, ‘This is so nice. How do you do that?’ I said, ‘Just read the book. You’ll learn.’” It gave her the tools to tone it down. The time she gave to Twitter, hours she spent at the gym at the expense of her health, mulling over the cynicism of critics instead of focusing on herself. But setting boundaries isn’t always so easy.

Biles finally began to put herself first

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history, had to pay a price for choosing herself. But she wasn’t very broken up about it. “It does mean sacrificing some of that stardom,” she explained. “But at the end of the day, you can’t have it all. And if you take care of your mental well-being first, the rest will fall into place.”

When Biles pulled out of multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics, she cited mental health reasons. She was losing her spatial awareness when up in the air, and this could prove fatal to her health. The phenomenon is known as the ‘twisties’.

But it gave her the opportunity to sit on the sidelines and watch her teammates compete in the finals. It allowed her to see herself from another perspective and realize how incredible it was. That feeling made everything worth it.

“Making it this far? It was one in a trillion,” she said.

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