Every 4 years, a tiny flame starts its journey from Greece and goes around the world and even into space. Earlier this month, the flame wound up in a location known as Sochi–a city in Russia, hosting winter athletes from around the globe for 2 weeks. I love witnessing the extreme athleticism and grace during the games, but this year I am more intrigued by some great life lessons the 2014 Winter Olympians are teaching me.
The student becomes the master, and the master has class.
For those of you who don’t follow snowboarding, Shaun White is the snowboarding rock star competing for the US. In the past year, he’s been seen on everything from cereal boxes to chewing gum commercials. This year he was hoping to land his third Olympic gold medal. That’s 12 years of being on the top of your game for us mere mortals. During the Half Pipe Snowboarding Finals, Shaun was “going big” and made a critical error that resulted in his slipping from the #1 slot down to #4. Switzerland’s Louri Podladtchikov, (for whom Shaun has been a childhood idol) created his own signature maneuver that won him the gold. This maneuver has only been successfully copied and completed by one other person: Shaun White. Sean was so impressed last year when he saw Louri perform this creative feat, he leaned how to do it himself. When Shaun realized that Louri had won the gold using that difficult move, he didn’t throw a fit or blame the condition of the course, nor did he breakdown and scream and cry. Curiously, he just smiled. This newcomer was young talented and inventive and had just beat the reigning champion, what did Shaun do? He immediately walked up to him and gave him a bear hug as if to say, “Congrats Kid! You worked hard and you deserve it! Enjoy it, man!”
What I learned: When you fail in front of a billion people it can be devastating. Have the courage to be the bigger person. You can’t stay at the top forever. Eventually someone else is going to come along who’s better than you–perhaps by a little, perhaps by a lot. Maybe it’s worth taking time to learn from them.
How bad do you REALLY want it?
The games are obviously extremely competitive, and the athletes are performing skills at the highest level possible. Anyone who’s been in any sort of competition, whether it’s sales, production, or a sports event, has eventually found themselves trailing someone. When this happens, you have to dig deep and ask the hard question: “How bad do I REALLY want this?” Charlotte Kalla of Sweden had to do that very thing during the Women’s Cross Country 4×5 km Relay. As the anchor leg, she started off lagging 25 seconds behind. 25 seconds is an eternity in a distance race, especially in an Olympic cross country skiing event that covers the distance of 5km. The distance was particularly daunting for her because she’s a sprinter who specializes in short bursts of acceleration for a few meters at a time—not in pushing hard for the last 5k of a race. Though physically exhausted, she was able to dig deeper because her mental desire to win trumped body’s desire to just quit!
She achieved the impossible, not only catching up to the 2 leaders in the last leg, but also passing each of them in the last few meters, collapsing in a pile as she crossed the finish line. It was the only time during the Olympics I found myself out of my seat, cheering for someone.
What I learned: Falling behind in a life endeavor is an eventuality for all of us at some point. When you find yourself in that position, ask yourself: “How bad do I want it?” Think back to the reason you took on this challenge in the first place. Dig deep by doing more research, using a different strategy, or getting some outside help. In certain situations, such as a fitness challenge or a sales goal, it helps to get support from someone who will take on the challenge with you. Sometimes this can even create a friendly competition and put extra spark into the endeavor!
It’s all about your best EFFORT regardless of your situation
For most people, competition is just about winning. Of course, for the athletes participating in the Olympics, the quest for gold is in the forefront of their minds. Ironically, however, the most popular team in recent Winter Olympics history is also the team that wound up coming in last place: the Jamaican Bobsledding team. This 2-person sledding team climbs into a colorful box with razor blades as runners and hurls themselves down a half-open pipe of ice at 75+ miles an hour with absolutely NO chance of winning. Even more amazing, these competitors live on a tiny island in the Caribbean with no snow! Who wouldn’t root for them? This team may not win the gold, but they are an audience favorite because against all odds, they’ve worked hard enough to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Winston Watts, the team captain, said it best in an interview following his last run. He shared that he grew up with almost nothing and fought hard to remedy the situation by searching for opportunities to get himself up and out! This mindset ultimately landed him in the Olympics. He explained how challenges are part of life, and you’ve got to give your best effort if you want to do better than what life deals you. All of this communicated with that wonderful “Ya Mon” Jamaican attitude!
What I Learned: This is such a great lesson! Regardless of what life throws at you, if you approach each day with enthusiasm and commitment and focused intention, you will naturally become better at any endeavor you choose to do.
As the games draw closer to an end, I am looking forward to more great learning opportunities from these world-class athletes. It inspires me to consider the fact that such a small percentage of the participants will be going home with a medal, and yet, so many the Olympians are achieving something far greater. They are becoming Champions of Character.
What did you learn from this year’s Winter Olympics?
