Perseverance vs Winning at Any Cost 🥇
Olympic athletes teach us about balancing commitment and our mental health
The 2024 Olympics kicked off last weekend in Paris and millions around the globe are tuning in to watch the participants’ incredible feats of strength, technique, and talent. But the Olympics is about more than just a two-week international sports competition held every 4 years. The true spirit of the games is evidenced in the character of its athletes, and their increasing attention to living a balanced life that nurtures their mental health.
As I was watching two of my favorite events this last week (swimming and gymnastics), I found myself continually tearing up whenever the athletes’ stories were shared. These are otherwise ordinary humans with superhuman levels of commitment and perseverance.
Whether it was physical or mental obstacles, every athlete has had to overcome adversity to reach the highest level of their sport. And they often do it without any expectation of financial reward.
Consider U.S. gymnast Brody Malone, who dislocated his knee during a competition last March but is competing this year with nine screws in his leg. Or U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dresell who took a break from the sport after the last Olympics because his passion had faded. Or U.S. gymnast Suni Lee, who last year discovered she had a kidney disease that caused her to gain 40 pounds and sidelined her from competition. All these athletes won a medal this week.
These athletes’ perseverance is admirable. However, even more impressive than the goals they achieved is how they’re all talking about the importance of taking care of themselves as they compete. There is a big difference between perseverance and winning at the cost of your mental health.
Three years ago, I lauded gymnast Simone Biles for her bravery in stepping back from the Olympics due to mental health concerns. There was incredible media hype around expectations for her performance. It’s amazing how anyone can withstand such scrutiny. Biles has shared that therapy and visualization have helped her immensely in controlling her emotions during competitions.
In fact, Biles openly talked about having a therapy session the morning of her individual all-around gold-medal winning performance last week. And she posted on social media that “mental health matters.”
Swimmers Nic Fink and Adam Peaty shared that decreasing their focus on competition actually helped them become better competitors.
"I actually think that having the job and pursuing more life things keeps me balanced and well-rounded," [Fink] said Monday. "So, you know, just putting my energy and effort into something else while still focusing on swimming, still wanting to be elite, has only helped me, I think, in the pool."
The same is true for any of us—whether an Olympic athlete or a busy professional. It’s vital that we increase our consciousness around our mental health and take care of ourselves. Too often goals or success are reached at the cost of our mental wellbeing.
When we become hyper focused on achieving goals, we can lose love for what we do, which leads to burnout. It’s about the journey, not just the destination. Who you are becoming as a conscious leader is more important than any external goal you’ll achieve. And just like Olympic athletes, working with a coach and therapist can be valuable tools for helping us find the right balance of perseverance and mental wellbeing.
As we continue to cheer on these incredible athletes through the completion of the 2024 Olympics, let’s remember to also focus on balancing our work with our whole-person wellbeing.
Change starts with you,
Meredith
P.S. Fellow Substack Techno Sapiens has a great post this week about the psychology of winning an Olympic medal: Are athletes happier when they get Silver or Bronze medals?
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