You will be scared, but do it anyway.
Across the experiences and milestones that professional mall curator and athlete Christine Tan Coqueiro has reached, this statement seems to be a recurring theme – one that has led her to great success.
Always having lived her life bravely and independently, she is most certainly not one to be scared off by new sensations and unfamiliar experiences. On that same note, she even recalls her sports journey starting on a whim, being influenced by her athletic friends to attend a track and field tryout in fifth grade.
While she did not particularly expect to make the cut, the opposite ended up happening; and with her part of the school’s track and field team, she found the sweet spot where she naturally excelled – long jump. Recognizing her talent, she worked on the discipline, with training sessions she’d recall as being rather brutal, lasting until 8 or 9 in the evening; but finding enjoyment out of those moments nonetheless.
All these years later, Coqueiro remains to be active while also being a mom; from long jump, Coqueiro has dabbled in pole dancing, freediving, as well as obstacle course racing – all of which, while immensely fulfilling for her, has also made her face her biggest fears head-on and overcome them bravely.
In pole dancing, she recently joined a competition that tested her belief in herself. Due to the pressure of perfecting every step of her routine, there were moments where her mental fortitude was tested. But in the end, she ended up winning, clinching first place in her category.
She was also faced with a challenge in obstacle course racing when she slipped at the monkey bars and tore her ACL, weeks away from her first Spartan race. Coqueiro refers to the experience as ‘humbling’ and took it as a lesson to slow down. But while the injury has since shifted her perspectives – she’ll still feel nervous dealing with monkey bars – it’s overcoming fear that precisely serves as her drive to achieve.
She shares, “You will be scared, but do it anyway." If not, and you allow fear to take over, then you're going to regret [it] one day and realize, ‘I wasn't able to reach my full potential because I was scared.’”
She applies the same value of discipline both in her sports journey and in her professional career, where she has worked for one of the biggest mixed-use development companies in the country in the last 16 years. In this field, she’s also encountered her fair share of fears – such as public speaking! – but to her, nothing is too hard when you have such a mindset guiding your every move and decision.
In terms of continuing her champion journey, it’s been about two things. First, not wasting opportunities to give back. In her corporate role, she’s been able to work closely with disadvantaged kids, hearing their stories and providing priceless memories; there is also her commitment to sustainability, something that she brings to life in her work. Next, she finds herself going back to her mantra – doing things while scared. “Every time we are given a challenge we think is bigger than us or we think it's something we cannot do, we always have to think, ‘Would I allow myself to fail?’ And that's when I started planning everything into bite-sized actions or pieces, so that it's not so overwhelming,” she shares.
Thus has been Tin Coqueiro’s champion story – a journey that has enabled her to exceed expectations, go beyond her fears, all while leaving an impact to those around her.
