Friday, August 12, 2016

What I learnt from the Olympics

Hi there! I'm still around! Everyone seems to be busy playing Pokemon Go here, but I have no desire to start this game. Am I the odd one around here? On the other hand, I chose to indulge in watching the Summer Olympics, which was my favorite thing to do since I was a kid. It only happens once every 4 years, and so when it arrives every time, I get excited. My favorite sports events to watch is swimming, volleyball, some basketball. When I see an athlete standing on the podium everytime, I am reminded that behind that success is a lot of hard work, sacrifices and intense focus to get to where they are.

One particular athlete in the swimming scene in this Rio Games stood out to me. Katie Ledecky - she is such a powerhouse. A swimmer who is able to do both shorter and longer distances and be able to dominate in both is truly unheard of. Because she was so phenomenal in her races, I had to google about her and read about why she was so successful.

Her and most athletes work ethics can be applied in our own daily lives if we wanted to be the best in what we do.

- Everyone has heard about the 10,000 hours principle but no one follows it ... except incredibly successful people. To be good at something, we need to consistently practise that skill. There are no shortcuts to success. And in some cases when we hear about "overnight" success stories, we would realize that the person has actually put in tremendous amount of time and effort working on that thing if we dug further. This definitely can be applied to anything that we want to pursue or achieve. Start the groundwork now. Everyday.

- Not following the crowd. Think differently.
This is a particularly interesting concept. Most people tend to follow the crowd, as the tried and tested path seems safe and if it has proven to be successful, why change it? But following the crowd is also a recipe for mediocrity. In Katie's case, she was a distance swimmer, but thinks like a sprinter. She also trains at a high stroke rate, everyday, twice a day. Her practice is way different than the rest of other distance swimmers.


I've learnt a couple of things while watching this olympics. I'm inspired by the great work ethics that the athletes maintained over the years to get to where they are today. Those are the things that I certainly can apply in what I do. Did you learn anything while watching the games?

More great miniature artwork to come! :)

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