Like so many, I’ve been following the Olympic Games with my family. Watching athletes push the boundaries of human performance is always inspiring. I’m not solely talking about the physical level here—although records being broken left and right are extremely impressive.
Just as remarkable are the tenacity, dedication and resilience of those athletes, in the face of all kinds of adversity, both in the sports world and at large. How moving is it to see an official Refugee team?
Beyond all this, this year’s edition carried a lot of emotional weight for us. Ever since my husband worked on both the opening and closing ceremonies of the last Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the whole thing has taken a different proportion for us.
There was an added and unexpected layer of feeling for me this time around. Watching the opening ceremonies in all their Brazilian flair, I saw a lot of the same spirit and aesthetics put forward by a good friend and former dance partner of mine, who prematurely passed away 15 years ago. He’d been my introduction to the world of samba, and I deliberately took a moment to remember and salute his fierce soul on that day.
A few days ago, as we were checking up on some competition results, my children made a face upon learning of Canada’s bronze medal in Women’s Sevens Rugby.
“This sucks! Bronze is the worst medal!”
Wait, what??? The worst medal???
My husband and I chuckled a bit as we worked to put things into perspective for them, and explain that, as it is, a bronze medal is nothing to scoff at, especially Olympic bronze. After a while, they seemed to accept our perspective, although it took us a surprisingly long time to convince them.
And, of course, it got me thinking.
WHEN PERFORMANCE & PERFECTIONISM MEET
Are we, as a culture, so focused on performance and perfectionism that it blinds us from recognizing real achievement?
I’m not talking about the athletes’ point of view here, actually. It’s all from the bleachers. And the couches, and the treadmills, and wherever people are sitting or standing and watching, more often than not with a heavy critic’s hat on.
Listen, I will never discourage anyone from working hard to reach the top. Healthy striving is one of the greatest movers in our life (one of my personal mottos is #strivetobemore) and can help us achieve the unthinkable.
The problem comes when we start dismissing anything or anyone that’s not #1. Not only is it a very skewed and, in my opinion, unfair way to look at life, but it’s also deeply unrealistic.
When we write off progress in favour of perfection, we lose out on all the valuable lessons that are waiting for us in the process, all the complicated richness that makes up any journey and that, paradoxically, will always be more available to each one of us than Olympic gold ever will.
So, as you watch—whether it’s the competitions in Rio or any other occurrence where humans are working to surpass themselves—why not choose a different perspective, and celebrate striving over achievement? It might even help you fall in love with your process, whatever that may be!
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I would hope that people recognize achievements beyond being number one. Sometimes, it’s just about starting and finishing. This is why I think learning good sportsmanship and supporting each other no matter how fast or slow or level you are is so important.
Makes you wonder though about the younger generations, do they all think like your kids? Great that you and your husband had a conversation about it with them. Hopefully, they got something out of it. 🙂