The Paris Olympics were superb. The opportunity to watch the very best of the best athletes at the top of their game was phenomenal. Yet as I was enjoying yet another spectacular gymnastic move or shot-put, I realized how much we can all learn from these amazing individuals. No, not how to be a gymnast or shot-putter necessarily, but how to be a Champion in our own lives. How to approach our lives with the qualities that make a Champion.
What are those qualities?
First a passion for whatever activity or experience you pursue. It’s that passion that lights the fire within us, that makes us willing to do the tasks and take the steps, that will lead to the fulfillment of the activity/experience. It doesn’t matter if it’s washing the dishes or climbing Mt. Whitney, if you approach the endeavor with enthusiasm, then you’ll be willing to apply yourself to the washing or climbing successfully.
Second, persistence. Being willing to do the daily do, the
seemingly boring repetitive actions that accomplishing anything worthwhile
takes. Because when fueled by passion, those same actions are no longer boring,
although they may still be repetitious. No way did any of the Olympians we
admired achieve their magic overnight or on the first (or second or hundredth)
try. What they have, which so many of us
lack, is dogged persistence.
The third
quality is what I call “failure-blindness.” It’s the Champion’s
inability to conceive of failure as such. Instead, as Billie Jean King, that
indomitable tennis Champion, put it: “We don’t call it failure, we call it
feedback.” Perceiving your less-than-stellar attempts or results as feedback
for how to do whatever better next time is a sure way to success. Thinking of
your goofs and flops, your mistakes and losses as “failures” is a sure way to well–fail.
Passion,
persistence, and failure-blindness. Worthy qualities to practice regularly
until they become second nature. A sure road to greater happiness and success,
no matter what it is your heart desires.
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