RuthAnnHarnisch.com

Olympics – I Don’t Get It

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 02/19/10 at 2:32 am

Day 50

One of the things I hope to learn during this sabbatical year is: what outcomes or activities would be exciting enough to inspire me next?

I’m taking time off because I suspect my thinking is in a rut, and I want a fresh start.  One of my sabbatical activities is to spend time in the literal or figurative company of people who have found their passion and are devoting themselves to pursuing that interest.

Who’s more devoted and passionate than the Olympic athletes?  They sacrifice endless hours, practicing and training, year after year, all to shave a thousandth of a second or to sharpen the landing.  One tiny slip can negate decades of dedicated physical effort as an athlete’s career comes crashing down in a fraction of a second.

I’ve known people who were part of that training-for-the-Olympics culture.  It was a way of life.  If you or someone in your household is chasing a spot on the Olympic team, your life is already mapped out. Your choices have been made.  You know where you are going to be and what you are going to be doing on any given day.

I recognize that Olympic medals are cultural touchstones. I envy the passion and single-mindedness behind the achievements of so many athletes.

I can’t relate, though.  The idea of spending thousands of hours to perfect one routine to perform on one day every four years, well, there is not a single fiber of my being with which that idea resonates.  I don’t get it.  I can’t imagine being inspired by the hope of Olympic gold.  Too big an investment and too big a risk for a goal that is only achievable by one person in the world – not my kind of odds. I love watching Shaun White, but is it really worth risking life or permanent disability just to get such massive air and do never-before-done tricks?  How can doing what he does be worth the amount of time and work it takes to master?  It’s tricks in a half-pipe, for crying out loud!  Dying on the luge track? Worth it? I think not.  Millions disagree.

I’m not inspired by Olympic achievements as much as I am baffled by them. I want to feel that Olympic flame in my belly to accomplish something, but I need something more compelling than an athletic achievement.

I am laughing at myself for talking like such a typical coaching client.  The coach asks, “What do you want?” And the clients answers, “I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what I don’t want.”  

I have no idea what I want. I think I’m looking for a big vision, a big dream, a big goal, a big idea.  

But here is what I’m taking from the Olympics as sabbatical lessons:  I do not gain energy from competition, either participating or watching.  I like win-win situations, not win-lose.  Some people are spurred by the possibility of winning, or being better than others.  I am more inspired by cooperative projects, where the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.

When I look for sources of joy and inspiration in my future work and projects, I’ll look for ventures that help build teams and communities.

(Not hockey, though.)