Sports are a metaphor for life, and few life lessons play out more dramatically than on the Olympic stage.

At this year’s winter games, which ended Sunday, there were memorable triumphs and failures for U.S. athletes.

But more than winning or losing, what’s inspired me is the presence, grace, and accountability the athletes displayed, regardless of their performances.

Presence over Performance

Figure skater Alysa Liu became the first woman to win a gold medal for the U.S. in 24 years.

But winning wasn’t her aim. Before her exuberant free skate, Liu told USA Today:
“A medal? I don’t need a medal. I just need to be here, and I just need to be present…”

Liu remarkably said she doesn’t feel Olympic pressure; she just “lets it all in.”

Whenever I feel overcome with self-doubt or too obsessed with results, I’ll remember Liu’s words and repeat them to myself like mental mantras.

What makes Liu’s Olympic performance even more inspiring is that she left the sport for two years because of mental burnout, only re-entering it, according to the Guardian, after reclaiming something simple: Her love for moving her body.

Need I remind you that Liu is just 20 years old?

Her abundant wisdom is a reminder of what we often forget when pursuing something that matters to us: to find joy in the doing.

The joy you discover needn’t be bold. It can be as unassuming as the pleasure of having a few quiet minutes to yourself when you meditate, or the subtle satisfaction you feel after tidying up the kitchen before going to bed.

The Grace of Honest Failure

Olympic athletes also showed us how to handle the devastation of defeat with grace and honesty.

Lindsey Vonn, who, a week before the Olympics, tore a ligament in her knee but competed anyway, crashed just 13 seconds after leaving the gate, fracturing her leg. Writing on Instagram from her hospital bed, she encouraged others not to feel sorry for her but to take strength from her example.

Vonn, who is 41 years old, is another comeback queen – a model of determination and grit, but also of acceptance when whatever you’ve been so desperately wanting to happen doesn’t happen at all.

And then there’s Ilia Malinin, a generational figure skating talent who is so self-assured he named himself the “Quad God” for his ability to perform flawless quad jumps.

Rather than win a much-anticipated gold medal, Malinin fell twice in a disastrous free skate.

Moments after turning in one of his worst performances, Malinin acknowledged his mistakes were mental, saying simply, “I’m still trying to process what happened.”

No deflection. No blame. Just honesty.

Inviting it all in with Mindfulness

I can’t vouch for whether these athletes practice mindfulness, but they displayed qualities mindfulness helps us cultivate.

Mindfulness allows us to invite in the whole of our experience – the disappointment, confusion, and joy – and to relate to it all with steadiness and self-compassion. And while it’s a cliché, being mindful truly does help us stay more focused on the present – keeping us from anxiously anticipating the future or endlessly rehashing the past.

All of this takes practice. Olympic athletes train for hours a day, seven days a week, for years to hone their physical and mental skills.

The good news for all of us is that we don’t need to train like Olympic athletes to emulate them. Even just 10 minutes of mindfulness a day can help us:

• Stay present with what’s happening and let go of the results.
• Acknowledge failure with self-compassion and honesty.
• And find fulfillment in the process of mastering a skill, performing, or simply doing a task at hand.

None of this will win us a gold medal.

But it will certainly make us feel more fulfilled and even joyful.

On My Mind

Mindfulness Coaching