As a company that specialises in training and helping people to become the best they can be, we have all been glued to the Olympics.
The sheer talent and commitment of these athletes is nothing short of sensational and let’s not forget, we are only seeing the very best here. There are hundreds who just miss out and one can only imagine the heartache and soul-searching that this brings.
So consider how these Olympians must feel when all that pressure is intensified in the case of being the favourite. It is frankly amazing that they can perform to these standards and in some cases, even raise their game to new heights.
So when Simone Biles, the undisputed generational talent in her discipline, gymnastics, stepped forward to say there ‘there’s more to life than just gymnastics’ as she bravely opened up on mental health struggles, the world really took notice.
Here’s a few of her comments;
“I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now. We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
“I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to. And I don’t know if it’s age, I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun and I know that.”
To us, this showed incredible bravery and strength but unfortunately, some observers took this as a sign of weakness and continue to do so as the reaction to Adam Peaty’s planned month away from the pool to prioritise his mental health shows.
Peaty has faced a backlash this week and was refreshingly open in responding to it;
“Reading some of the comments in response to this is why we have such a stigma around mental wellbeing in sport. It isn’t a normal job. There is a huge amount of pressure. Money does not buy happiness.
“I’m taking a break because I’ve been going extremely hard for as long as I can remember. I’ve averaged two weeks off a year for the last seven years.
Read that again….he has “averaged two weeks off a year for the last seven years.”
That kind of effort is of course, Olympian and yes, his is NOT a normal job but we all know that many people are struggling right now in their “normal” jobs and lives and we are here to help. We have a suite of training videos for you to use in your business or as part of our Partner packages.
For more information contact Linda@mi-crow.com or call us on 03333 449918
Meanwhile, to Adam, Simone, Ben Stokes, and anyone else out there who is reading this and wants to raise their hand, we salute you.
