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Stick It! 5 Lessons Learned From Olympic Gymnasts

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Yang Bo performing on the balance beam.Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

Gymanastics is a fascinating sport. The combination of power, speed and grace require athleticism and artistry uncommon in other sports. I watched the Olympic Women’s All-Around Finals last night awed by the performances. One by one each tiny little gymnast running toward a balance beam. Their bodies moving down the runway with such speed you could almost visibly see the wind behind them. I watched the power of their leg muscles pulsating as they ran and then with a forceful bound  up in the air, twisting and landing on a tiny 4 inch wide piece of wood.

It takes an incredible amount of power to perform any of these gymnastic routines.  I know how hard it is to simply do a few sets of military push ups (aka the boy kind).  I cannot imagine propelling my weight in the air and then precisely controlling my movements in that way. Wow!

As I watched I thought of the lessons from these gymnasts that could be applied to life.

You can get the same score with a different style. Shawn Johnson is 4’9′ and weighs 90 pounds. She is all muscle and power much like former gymnast Mary Lou Retton. Teammate, Nastia Liukin is tall for a gymnast, 5’3″ and she is lean and graceful. Each approached the balance beam differently but received the same score. Whether you do two and half twists or one your outcome can rival others in your space. Do your routine to the best of your ability.

The way you take off impacts your landing. You can’t meander toward the balance beam. To gain the power needed to carry you through, you must run headlong at top speed. The speed powers the momentum that enables you to bound upwards toward your goal. If you want it, you have to go for it, commit to yourself and your actions and take off at top speed.

There’s room on the podium for more than one winner. Even when it was apparent that Liukin had locked up the gold medal, Johnson approached her final routine ready to rock the performance of her life. Liukin did take the gold but Johnson stood next to her as the silver medalist. Don’t let the accomplishments of others intimidate you. You have earned the right to compete. Rock the performance of your life. This is your moment in the spotlight, so shine.

You can’t control the actions of others. The gymnasts could only control their own performances. The judges had the power to deduct points and downgrade the difficulty of routines.  We can prepare and execute but we cannot control how others respond to our performance.  You can use their feedback to improve but you are truly only in control of yourself. Give it your all and trust the results.

Stick the landing. You may wobble a bit on the beam or get to close to the low bar on the uneven bars but still have a great landing.  As you tumble through the air, spot that target and focus on grabbing hold of it with all you’ve got. When you land upright, both feet on solid ground, you can raise your hands in victory. All the effort of the journey, even the missteps led to that moment. Stick it and smile!

Remember, even if you do land on your butt, you’re still looking up!

Now, dear readers over to you.  What are your Olympic words of wisdom? Feel free to share whatever is on your mind right there in the comments. Hey, and if you like this post, click the “Share This” beneath the post to stumble, digg or post to your favorite bookmarking site. 🙂

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Comments

  1. Hi Alex! I can certainly understand why the Olympics do not appeal to you. While I am also bothered by the location this year, as a Marathon runner and lay athlete I am drawn to the pure athleticism. While the media and spectators do tend to diminish “less than perfect” results, from an athlete’s perspective the drive and the satisfaction are not external but internal. They compete and strive for their best not because of public pressure to do so but because that’s who they are and what they love to do. I am a huge sports fan and often find inspiration there so for me it is incredible to know what it takes to get there let alone win a medal!

  2. I haven’t been following the Olympics for a variety of reasons (mainly around corruption and lack of decent principles at the top), but I stopped watching the Olympics a while back mainly because of the pressure to succeed.

    I remember a Canadian runner (hurdles) who was expected to take the gold, but then she fell (I seem to remember) and didn’t win and was seen as some sort of failure.

    This was a woman who had dedicated her life to something that was unlikely to bring her much money (unless she did get a gold and won some advertising contracts). She did it for herself and her passion. She made it one step away from the ultimate goal and yet was viewed as a failure for not being perfect.

    And then there’s all the blame-the-athlete talk for steroids. In Canada, Ben Johnson is the biggest story, but the tales are everywhere. Athletes are pressured to perform beyond human limits then when they give into that pressure, and are caught doing it, they are raked across the coals.

    So what’s my lesson from the Olympics? That people put way too much emphasis on perfection and on being THE BEST. And that too often corruption hides behind innocence and scapegoating…

    (Yes, call me a cynic but I just can’t get into the Games).

    Cheers,
    Alex

    Alex Fayles last blog post..Watching the Fireworks

  3. @Steph

    No…I totally agree with you. I think our lack of medals in the Olympics is more than just not putting a priority on sports. It’s a symptom of our overall wishy-washiness, as a whole nation.

    We don’t like to stand out…we don’t want to make a splash. We’re so busy trying to please and include everyone, we’ve forgotten to have our own Canadian identity.

    Look how powerful and influential Canada was in the 50’s and 60’s. We had a global influence. Back then, there was a real sense of being “Canadian”, and what Canada is about. We don’t quite have it anymore.

    And example of this, is people are now actually writing into the papers, saying we should be proud of our athletes, just because they made it to the Olympics and they’re competing.

    Oh, for crying out loud..What kind of winning attitude is THAT? We’ve become a bunch of wimps!

    We need to pay more attention to having winning attitudes, like the ones Karen has just pointed out.

    Friars last blog post..Why I Think Northern Pike Are Awesome

  4. Friar: I think Canadians have this wishywashy approach in general. [ducks and runs]. I mean, we have athletes with major dreams, sure, but they don’t have the pressures behind them that the Russians or Chinese, have, for example. I think this may have to do with national identity. Canada has forever been thought of and discussed by academics as a country that still doesn’t quite know who she is. Canadian identity has been a dicey topic forever.

    Canadian athletes, though certainly representing their country, seem more like individuals and teams rather than the country itself. When I see a Russian or Chinese athlete, I see their country, not just the individual or team. They ARE China or Russia. You know? That’s the pressure that’s put on them.

    I don’t know if I’m explaining myself well. But I don’t think it’s because we’re not great athletes. Why we have no significant contribution to soccer or other sports, why we don’t really stand out in the sport world…I hesitate to say it’s because of a lack of discipline or determination. I think it’s the lack of priority, our lack of concern as to how we appear globally.

    Or something like that.

    Stephs last blog post..No Lamb For the Lazy Wolf

  5. Gymnastics is my favorite competition to watch. I enjoy watching how athletes can be so flexible in their bodies.

    I’m also particularly interested because my little girl goes for gym classes and I would like to encourage her not to give up if the exercises get difficult. No…I’m not hoping or training her to be an Olympic sportswoman… I just want her to understand what motivation and dedication means.

    Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Maps last blog post..How To Build Intuitive Awareness For Inspired Actions

  6. One lesson I have learnt from the olympic games: Don’t be too sure about you and how things are going to go! The German gymnast who fell from the high bar thrice, or the German show jumpers: they were considered to get gold medals and they had a bad performance.

    Ulla Hennigs last blog post..Keep on Trying

  7. @Wendi

    We just dont’ put a high priority into sports as much as other countries. (There was actually an interesting aritcle in todays paper…one of our former medalists was saying exactly this!)

    Every four years, it’s the same. There’s a big outcry…how come our athletes aren’t doing well? We need to support them more..why doesn’t the govt. do soemthing.?

    Then we forget about everything….until the next Olympics.

    I mean, I don’t expect we’d be able to keep up with China or the U.S. But Togo or Mongolia? Come ON…!! :-0

    Friars last blog post..Basil the Special Dog (Update Part II)

  8. Friar,

    Why, is the Olympics just not that high of a priority in Canada? I hadn’t even thought about it but you are right, they don’t seem to be much of a contributer. Huh…

    @Brad,
    The mind over matter thing is really amazing. The level of focus that it takes is incredible and they have to start developing that at such an early age when most kids have the attention span of a knat.

    Wendi Kellys last blog post..The Habit of Winning

  9. Wow, I fell asleep before the event was finished, and I thought the Americans were done for. The judging seemed to be going against them. The fact these young ladies didn’t let the judging rattle them is admirable. They just stayed focused, evidently remained confident, and did what they had to do. Mind over matter!

    Brad Shorrs last blog post..Words for Nerds – Portmanteau

  11. Oh, I meant to ask, did you notice the difference in feeling in the team competitions between USA men and USA women? The men were not expected to medal and did get the broonze- they were heros, special. The women were favored , or at least on par with the Chinese. the feeling was very different though. More tense. That says something about expectations but I am not sure what.

    Janice Cartiers last blog post..Week’s End

  12. I was riveted to that competition last night. These are wonderful takeaways you’ve come up with. Each one a keeper.

    The way you take off impacts your landing is such a good thing to remember. That moment before. There’s a moment there that it all happens. You could see them centering themselves. Sean Johnson usually gave a snap of her chin and set her determination. And Nastia, called her grace into herself.

    Amazing, highbars, balance beam, and vaults. Power, strength, grace, and years of preparation. This time, this time of sheer atheleticism would have been nothing without such heart.

    And stick it. Such hah, see there I did it! The best I had that day. Not a bad thing at all.

    Beautiful post, my friend.

  13. all good points. Very good. Especially I enjoyed “The way you take off impacts your landing. ” Yes! No meandering…. Not I THINK I can…it’s I KNOW I CAN!

    I am re-reading Vince Lombardi this morning ( Post to follow soon) and I like one of his quotes on winning.

    “Not everyone can be a winner all the time, but everyone can make that effort, that committment to excellence.”

    Not everyone in the Olympics walks away with the gold, not even the silver or the bronze….but heck they are IN the Olympics…They got there while the rest of the world was sitting by thinking about it, not willing to put in the effort.

    That part amazes me when you look at all of them. All of that determination, focus and effort. They are all winners to me.

    Wendi Kellys last blog post..New Adventures

  15. @ Friar! ahahaha!

    @ Karen: Wow. Fantastic points you took and expounded on! Good points. I especially liked the second and last ones. The Swedish wrestler who threw off his bronze medal because he didn’t get the gold can teach us something, I’m sure, at least about sportsmanship. But I suspect that your 4th point also applies, since he was so angry with the judges.

    Stephs last blog post..When Peeking is a Good Thing

  16. And if you come from a Totalitarian Country:

    If you win: That is acceptable. You will get an extra ration of food this week.

    But if you come in 2nd, you’re a NATIONAL DISGRACE.

    You’re lucky we dont’ send you to the salt mines.

    Now…GO COMPETE…!!!!

    🙂

    Friars last blog post..Basil the Special Dog (Update Part II)