Three important routines – and a quote from the skating champion Nils van der Poel – that’s what Cornelia Jakobs takes with her before Saturday’s Eurovision final to find the same feeling as in the semi-final.
– I don’t remember anything from the stage. It was just a white light and then I know it went well.
Cornelia Jakobs is finally in the final. Acclaimed by many but without carrying the absolute favorite. Together with Italy and the United Kingdom, Sweden can sneak behind Ukraine.
It suits Cornelia Jakobs. The competition is one thing. But for her, the focus is on the balance between work and recovery.
– My inner performance person wants to think that I’m a superwoman who can work really hard and say yes to everything, but that’s not the case. I get exhausted and then I don’t work.
Cornelia Jakobs has previously told about the way back from her fatigue depression and about the importance of recovery. But when she’s working, then it’s full speed.
At the press conference after the semi-final, she exclaimed “I get to sleep when I’m dead” and when the draw for the running order in the final was to be at the same time, she wrestled down the Italian presenter in a sudden whim of improvisational theater.
Met the Swedish media at night
When Thursday passed on Friday, Cornelia Jakobs is still in a trance and bounces down on a sofa to meet Swedish journalists. She tries to sum up the happiness of having grazed the semi-final, everything else would have been disappointing, and to now recharge before Saturday’s final.
– I’m satisfied with my performance even if I don’t remember it immediately afterwards. Then I know that I’ve been completely inside the feeling. I remember the first two phrases, when I put my voice to it, and then it’s just like a white light. That’s where I want to be, she explains.
Almost twenty relatives and friends will be on place for the final, but Cornelia Jakobs, who has been in Turin for two weeks, stays in the bubble and tries to stay focused. To improve the chances of winning, but mostly for the sake of her own health.
– It’s actually a pretty simple and absolutely natural thing for me to be on stage and sing this song. It’s life outside that’s the bigger challenge, Cornelia Jakobs told GP a few days earlier.
“It was a hell of whipping and hating on yourself.”
We talked about different methods for listening to warning signals before stress and pressure, which routines help but also about acceptance of who you are and how you function.
– The performance person looked down on the fact that I needed to rest and I could be quite hard on that side of myself. It was a hell of a whipping and hating on yourself.
Therefore, Cornelia Jakobs is grateful that she’s here now that she feels better and can handle the unreasonable task of performing and competing in front of millions of viewers. She has “done the work inwards”. And she has the right song with her.
– It’s a big reason why I feel safe. I have been able to go here and be completely true to myself. The song is totally transparent and that’s a must for me. Then we’ll see how far it goes.
A quote from the Swedish skating phantom Nils van der Poel pops up in my head. I quick-google and read it out to Cornelia Jakobs.
“When I have competed, one person has always won. Everyone else has lost. This does not mean that the Olympics were meaningless for the 19 who lost 5,000 meters. That’s not how it works. They left with something else. ”
– I got shivers on my legs here now. So fucking good and fine. I think the same, no matter how it goes, I am so very proud to be a part of all this.
Cornelia Jakobs three routines for feeling good
1. Exercise
“I feel good by exercising and running. If I forget it for too long, it creates a lot of anxiety. I have a lot of energy in my body that kind of gets stuck in different places if I don’t exercise.
2. Gigs
“I have to gig. I don’t feel good if I’m not allowed to play, it is like pure therapy for me.”
3. Meditation
“Meditation is quite new to me so I haven’t got it as a routine yet, but I feel good by it and have acquired some good apps. It’s something I want to learn more about.”