I’ve been glued to Olympic coverage pretty much since the opening ceremonies. I’ve been following a lot of sports and watching as much as I can. During this time I’ve seen the entire range of human emotions. People winning and losing. Achieving their personal bests as well as performances they rather forget.
I paused to consider the success I’ve had thus far in life and the people I know who are also successful in what they do in terms of the Olympics. I’m pretty sure that the chances of me ever making it to the Olympics, much less getting a medal, are slim to none, but in terms of what I do their is no reason what I can’t reach my own podium. Think about what you do. Think about what you want to do really well. Now think about watching Olympic calibre athletes.
The first thing I noticed is that they are so good that their performances seem effortless. That sliding down a sheet of ice on little more than some tubes and plastic at 140+ km/hr is just another thing to do. That skating around for 4 minutes, gliding, spinning, lifting your partner into the air with style and grace…just like you’d do that anywhere, anytime.
The next thing I noticed was that these competitors are laying everything on the line. It’s the cliché “it all comes down to one moment…” saying. A half-hearted effort gets half-hearted results.
So how often do we do that for ourselves?
What in our lives can we put down and say…I do this because I love it and every time I step up to the plate, I’m swinging for the fences. I know that no one can say they feel that way all of the time. Even these champions we’re watching have days where they’d rather do anything other than their sport.
But that feeling doesn’t last long, does it?
Maybe it’s because I’ve entered middle-age that I am looking for those things that inspire and push me to be better at what I do.
Notice that I haven’t said “work” or “blogging” or anything like that thus far.
And certainly I can apply all of what I’m talking about to both my personal and professional life.
I think we can all look at these athletes not with “wow I couldn’t ever do that” but with “wow I can do that in my own life…”
Now, when does your Olympic training begin? Tomorrow?
