Competing is not life or death

Greetings:

The current issue of Fitness (August 2008) features eight of the Olympic hopefuls. I was very impressed and inspired by the article and the comments of the Olympians. Each woman had a individual view of what it meant to be an athlete. Here are just a few of my favorite insights from the Olympians.

Natalie Coughlin (swimmer) commented that the best advice she received about being a successful athlete was to "Realize that competing is not life or death. Because at the end of the day, it's a game - it's suppose to be fun." If you ask me this is great advice. In the Olympics or life sometimes you can just become too serious. There really isn't much that is life or death, so lighten up and enjoy more of life.

Shawn Johnson (Gymnastics) Shawn is one of the youngest Olympians. She comments that "Being an athlete is about so much more than physical fitness, it teaches you to stretch your mind and push the limits of what you can achieve." You don't have to be an athlete to stretch your mind and push your limits every day. Try new things, don't be afraid to take risk and go beyond your perceived limits.

Jessica Mendoza (softball) I thought what Jessica had to say was profound. She said, "One thing I've learned is that I can't control how good my competition is going to be." She then goes on to state that she can only control herself, the amount of work she puts into her game and preparing for the next challenge. That is all any of us can do. You cannot control anyone but yourself. Your biggest competition should always be yourself.

Diana Taura (Basketball) She comments that "I am an emotional player, my coach at UConn told me my emotions would be my greatest strength and my greatest weakness." Any strength overused will become a weakness.

I would be totally remiss is I didn't mention Mary Beth Dunnichay. A young (15 years young) synchronized diver is going to the Olympics. She wasn't featured in the Fitness article but she does hail from my family's hometown of Elwood Indiana. Elwood is a pretty small town so to have someone make the Olympics is a pretty big thing. My take on this is Mary Beth is a great example of what focus and daily action will get you. She works out six days a week! That is impressive.

Here's to taking action

Rachelle