Race To The Bottom
I’ve witnessed it more times than I wish. Athletes who pursue a berth on an Olympic team through a process of self-focus and disregard for their families, teammates and the other Olympians who went before them. More often than not, they fail. Because they don’t get what it is to be an Olympian. Instead, as they pursue the top, they are on a race to the bottom.
The pursuit of better is a simple one. Act every day on the small promises you make to yourself and the larger bodies in which you are a part. Expand your boundaries. Be grateful.
My friend, Brian Volpenheim, two-time Olympic Champion and current U.S. Olympic Rowing Coach, fosters this spirit every day in the pursuit of being an Oarsman. It can be applied to any pursuit of better:
“Being an Oarsman is bigger than just getting in a boat and rowing. It’s how you carry yourself outside the boat. It’s how you treat your teammates and it’s how you treat your competition. There’s a level of respect there and a level of perspective where you fit in the sport, and the history of the sport, and everything that’s happened before you, sort of being a part of that.”
-Brian Volpenheim (See the video HERE.)
In the same way that I wonder what holds such a legacy in place, what about the opposite? What drives people — perhaps an entire community — to break small promises over and over again?
Whether a trajectory trends up or down, to encounter a stumble is nothing new. I know I have and will continue to do so.
But, to aim for the opposite end of the spectrum — and a world apart from the pursuit of an Oarsman — requires you not only to give up, but to work hard at giving up.
Expand blame and excuses. Feel entitled. Believe the rules don’t apply to you.
In this race to the bottom, you fight and conquer your own ingrained systems of resilience, patience, and goodness. You consciously choose negative allies, whose poor judgment and character break down your honesty and integrity. You lose your filter between the social media world and reality.
The good news is that everyone has access to the same stopgaps. They are free and readily available. As soon as YOU are ready to choose them.
While most people won’t experience this level of free fall, the descending steps that take you there are never too far away. Simply pay attention, make better choices, and keep small promises.
Like the Oarsmen.
As America’s first ever Olympic Gold Medalist in Whitewater Canoe Slalom, Joe promotes strategies and shares stories for living and performing at your best, doing the work that matters and engaging with purpose. His platforms include performance coaching and consulting, professional speaking, broadcasting and his weekly newsletter, “Sunday Morning Joe.”