Student Wellbeing
Inspired by resilient athletes at the Paris Olympics
The life of an athlete is all about competition, and it can be difficult to understand their mental and physical struggles. It’s a long journey to the Olympics, one that involves hours of training – often every day. It is far from an easy and glamorous life as they sacrifice going out with friends, holidays and take away food. They experience success and failure and choose to continue to push themselves to be the best they can be. It is this mindset, to be better today than I was yesterday, that is an important character strength that we can all adopt.
Whether on a gymnastics mat or in a pool, these Olympians have enough experience to give words of wisdom that motivate us all.
“If you’re having fun, that’s when the best memories are built.”
Simone Biles, US
This quote highlights her belief that approaching a difficult task from the angle of enjoyment will reduce stress and allow you to create positive memories. When we enjoy what we do, the journey is just as rewarding as the outcome.
"It’s not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.”
Florent Manaudou, France
The 33-year-old athlete, who won gold in 2012 and has since won three more silver medals, shows that when trying to achieve a goal, it is not about how you compare to other people; the important thing is how much you grew as a person in the process.
"Everything that I went through, I'm just so grateful for all those hard moments, because those are the moments that made me really dig deep, really go internal and just find myself with BMX again."
Saya Sakakibara
Sakakibara's story is a mix of outstanding success- gold at Paris and incredible heartache following life-altering injuries to her brother. Those awesome peaks may never quite offset the devastating lows but she never gave up and dedicated her ride to her brother.
When watching the Olympics, note not how many times a skateboarder, cyclist or gymnast falls, but how many times they get up and keep going.
Lisa
Deputy Principal & Wellbeing Leader
lisa.heath@smcmeppingnth.catholic.edu.au
Jess
Deputy Principal & Learning Diversity Leader