Just a few hours ago, the final session of the Paris Olympics 2024 for swimming was completed. The last session did not fail to give excitement for American Swimming Fans! Bobby Finke broke the WORLD RECORD in the 1500 in his gold medal performance. Followed later by the women's 400 Medley Relay breaking the WORLD RECORD! The US won the "gold medal race" against Australia, coming from behind with those 2 gold medal finishes today.
I can not talk about today's swims without mentioning Caleb Dressel with his butterfly leg of the Men's 400 Medley Relay. He killed it! After seeing him a few days ago in tears after his 13th place finish in the individual 100 fly, he could have allowed that to bring himself to a dark place, without the ability to perform like he did today.
I think this is all thanks to his mindset. Caleb, like many other top athletes have had periods of highs and lows over the past 3 years since the last Olympics. That is no secret. He dove into other interests while taking the mental and physical break he needed before turning back to the pool to give Paris a go. Let's be real... the world is not ready for an Olympics without Michael Phelps AND Caleb Dressel.
Caleb could have easily thrown in the towel after his finish in the individual 100 fly a few days ago. I am sure he took some time being disappointed, sad and upset. But he was able to shake off the inner critic and come through for his teammates and for the USA in the relay today. Talk about an amazing comeback!
So how does that translate to us? I am sure we can all think of a time where we were disappointed, sad and upset about our performance. It could be in swimming, a relationship, a work project or a test in school- we have all been there. We, too, have a decision to make. Either we can let those thoughts and feelings take us off course into a negative hole. Or... We can tell that inner critic that we can do better, and we will do better, finding the tools we need to become successful and prevail in our endeavors.
So the next time you feel disappointed, sad and upset- remember there are two ways you can respond to it. Which will you chose??
*pic from USA Today Article from Aug. 2, 2024
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