When the world’s best compete against each other there’s so much emotion, drama, and heart that comes out, that’s why I love watching athletes perform. You can’t help but get drawn in. It’s what makes the Olympics so special.In a way we know what it’s like to compete, because we know what it’s like to ace the test, nail the interview, deliver a great project, or drive in the game winning run in little league. We also know what it’s like to mess up the test, fail the interview, deliver a less than stellar project, and strike out with the bases loaded.
I can only image what the feeling is like at the Olympics. I think that’s why it’s so easy to feel for the athletes regardless of country or sport. In some we, we are them. What they’re experiencing is what we feel, or have felt at some level, only these athletes have the magnifying lens of the entire world on them.
There’s so many lessons to learn from the athletes. The 2014 Olympics in Sochi have certainly provided plenty of lessons. I’d like to talk about four lessons from the Olympics.
1) The odds-on-favorite doesn’t always win. – Hannah Kearney was the favorite to take the gold in the women’s freestyle skiing moguls; which she won at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. One mistake cost her the gold, and she ended up with a bronze medal. She tweeted afterwards, “Bronze feels a lot like a broken heart.” She went on to say later that she will accept the bronze for fighting, but not for perfection.
Maybe you’re the odds-on favorite. You need to give your best performance each and every time because someone right behind you is looking to beat you, and they will if you don’t perform your best. If you aren’t the favorite, this presents a tremendous opportunity. This means that anybody has a chance to achieve what they want. If you are prepared, and give your best effort, you may just end up with a gold medal, even when no one else thinks you’ll win. That’s why the underdog always has a chance.
2) Worthwhile pursuits take tremendous dedication. – Olympic athletes spend their lives training; sometimes 10 hours a day – for years. When asked if she would compete in the 2018 Olympics, Hannah Kearney said she wouldn’t because that means giving everything to skiing for the next four years and she has other dreams she wants to achieve.
We think we can have it all, we see other people spread themselves out in so many different fields. But, if you really look more closely there’s always the one thing that they achieved success with and then the other opportunities open up because of the success in that one field.They didn’t try to be a success at everything. I think that thinking slows us down because we’re trying to do everything, instead of focusing on the one thing that we’re better than anybody else at. If we can nail that and achieve success, the other opportunities will open up. What can you do better than anyone else? Do that, it’ll get you noticed and it will give you a chance to pursue other dreams.
3) Your character is always on display. – Jeremy Abbott, a four-time U.S. national figure skating champion, took a tumble on the ice and slid into the wall hard during the men’s short event. He was down for a second before he popped up and finished his routine.
While he was on the ice for that brief moment, a million things raced through his head; what do I do? do I skate over to the judges?, can I continue? I’m in a lot of pain. As those thoughts circled in his head, he heard the roar of the crowd. The crowd was pulling for him and began cheering, giving him a standing ovation.
In an interview afterwards, he said, “I heard the crowd and I had to finish for them.” He could have hung his head and skated off the ice, but he instead chose to finish. He knew his shot at a medal was over, he ended up in 15th place, but to finish what you started, even if it doesn’t go as planned shows exactly who you are as a person.
4) Make the most of your opportunity. – Noelle Pikus-Pace, missed a medal in the women’s skeleton, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, by a tenth of a second. She wasn’t satisfied with that result, but she was pleased that she had given her best and with that she retired. She left the sport to raise a family.
After suffering a miscarriage, she decided to pursue the Olympic medal dream again, but only if her husband and two young children went with her. She spent the last few years training, and after her final run in Sochi, she was in first. The emotions poured from her as she knew she had secured a medal. She took home the silver medal and during the medal ceremony, she broke down in tears. She had made the most of her opportunity.
What are your Olympics? Maybe it’s something you’re competing in, or maybe it’s just your everyday pursuits. Can you take any of these lessons and apply them in your life to help you achieve the success you dream about?
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