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Thought for today:
‘Sports serve society by providing vivid examples of excellence.’
— George F Will
#thoughtfortoday #excellence #mentalhealth #selfpreservation #olympics202 #tokyo #coaching
I was looking for a sports quote today because I’ve been watching some of the Olympics 2020.
As always happens (to me at least), I want to watch, but don’t, then I watch a sport I know little about, and get hooked.
I have always found the Olympics to be both uplifting and engaging, it just takes me a while to get going.
Yet looking for quotes, all I found were things like “no failure” and “never give in” and “it is in your head”, “you must persist”.
And then I look at the example Simone Biles (and earlier Naomi Osaka in tennis) set for us.
By being open about mental health, by accepting their own line in the sand, and in particular, shutting out those who push them on.
It is OK to admit you have limits.
It starts with accepting that you have a choice, and only you can know what is in your best interests really – no one else lives your experience as you do.
So my thoughts today have moved from the joy of the Olympics to celebrating Simone Biles knowing that she is making it OK for a lot of people to be open about the impact of pressure and expectation on their health.
She is a true Olympian.
