#getinspired
I love the Commonwealth Games. Or the Friendly Games as they’re often referred to. Some people think it’s a waste of time and energy. But what a great opportunity for so many Home Nations athletes to represent their country, experience a global competition and be able to compete against elite athletes from across the world. And when they coincide with rainy school Easter holidays, thanks to BBC Sport, what a great chance for the next generation of athletes to get inspired.
As the swimming events draw to a close at the Optus Aquatic Centre, it was remarkable to see so many of the British swimmers with smiles on their faces even when things didn’t quite go their way. Hannah Miley of Team Scotland had a harsh experience at the Olympics in Rio 2016 when she came fourth and missed a bronze by 0.15 seconds. But she’d just swam her best performance at an Olympics Games. It took Miley over a year to come to terms with being genuinely happy with her performance and not worrying about what others thought and accepting that to move forward she needed to remind herself why she swims. And if you ask her why she swims her answer is simple: “it makes me happy”. Coming into the Commonwealths there were high expectations that she could be the first Scot to win a third straight Gold in the same event. But she was pipped to the post by her English rival Aimee Willmott. Was Miley upset? No. Her response was “But it’s still a medal, I’m still smiling, and I’m still really happy with my performance.” Good on her.
Adam Peaty, the current World and Olympic breaststroke champion, was tipped to win two individual golds and has his own goal of “Project 56” – he wants to be the first person ever to swim 100m breaststroke in less than 57 seconds. He won the 100m breaststroke gold as expected but was beaten in the 50m by his rival Cam van de Burgh from South Africa by 0.04 seconds. His response: “Even though it’s a silver, I’m more happy with that silver than I was with the gold the other day. It gives me a reality check. Even if you are the best in the world, world record holder, you can still be beaten. I think that’s the most valuable lesson.”
I’m sure Peaty and his coach Mel Marshall will reflect on both performances, learn from them and move on… ready for the European Championships this August and to achieve his Project 56.
There are many other bittersweet stories I could quote – Ben Proud’s disqualification in the 50m Butterfly before winning Gold in the 50m Freestyle, the Welsh women’s medley relay “happy bronze” and the English men’s medley relay “jubilant silver” when they beaten by the Australian hosts by 0.09 seconds. Many of the competitors have walked away with smiles on their faces. And anyone watching will believe that they are genuinely happy with their performance.
So how can we all get inspired from these events?
Do what you love. I don’t think anyone gets up at 5am 5 or 6 mornings a week to swim 6,000 metres unless they love what they do. If you love doing something, it’s probably because it energises you and it’s a strength of yours. And you’ll feel fulfilled. Are you doing something you love?
Build on your strengths. It’s proven that optimising strengths increases employee engagement by up to 73% (1). Where or how else can you use your strengths to be even better at what you do?
Learn but don’t dwell. Sometimes things don’t go your way. But how will you respond? What can you learn from that experience to make the next time go your way? How can you use your strengths to make your performance better next time?
Smile. It sounds simple but neuroscience proves that if you act happy you will become happy and put yourself in a more positive frame of mind(2). And you never know who’s watching.
Strengthscope is an online assessment designed to be the first step in helping individuals optimise their strengths to improve performance and engagement at work. A range of supporting tools and development resources are available to translate insights from Strengthscope into ongoing improvements in performance, motivation and confidence.
Lara is an accredited Strengthscope Practitioner and Executive Coach. In her spare time, she loves being a Swim England Club Coach, coaching young swimmers to be the best that they can be.
1) Rath and Conchie, 2008. 2) Lane & Nadel, 2000
