We just visited the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, Norway. Opened in 1892, it has a 60 metre ramp – a medium jump. The longest recorded jump off it is 144 metres. To our inexperienced eyes, it is an intimidating size. Because of our visit, today as we drove to Stockholm, our guide played the movie Eddie the Eagle about the under-appreciated, under-prepared British ski jumper in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
At the end of the movie, when he had achieved beyond everyone’s expectations, they quoted what is known as the Olympic Creed:
The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part, just as in life, what counts is not the victory but the struggle.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin
Is that what you think about when you think about the Olympics? Participation, not winning? That is certainly not the impression that I get when I think about the Olympics!
It’s about the preparation. The struggle.
Hopefully that is an encouragement to you! In our media and social media-soaked world where we see other’s highlights, we can feel disillusioned, somehow less than. We measure ourselves against our peers and when we peg them as higher than us, we lament our lack.
The very fact that you get to participate in the game of life is, in itself, an achievement.
The highlight reels, the focus and attention might go to the victorious, but that doesn’t make them any more valuable that the rest of us.
The fact that we face the fear and do life anyway, the fact that we put in the effort to improve, the very fact that we keep going, is enough reason to celebrate.
Anyone who stands at the edge of the unknown faces the temptation to fear. When we fear, we instinctively shrink to become unseen, to protect ourselves. But fear is just an emotion like feeling anticipation or excitement. We can entertain it and allow it to grow, or we can put it in its place and act despite the feeling.
Some of us retreat from fear, but what happens when you stand despite the fear? Could it be that you step through into victory because you tried a different way? Sure, things might not always work out, Eddie the Eagle had his share of falls and setbacks, but, even when fear raised its ugly head, he found new focus and tried again.
I’ve mentioned fear versus danger before. Assess the danger, be wise, receive counsel, and then make a decision. Don’t make the decision based on the illusion of fear, make it on the reality of the situation. Face the fear and do life anyway. You’ll be surprised what happens when you press through despite fear.
Eddie put in effort to improve. He tried to find people that would help him, support him. What he found instead was insult after insult, pushbacks, setbacks, and double standards. Things weren’t fair, the criteria for qualification changed after he had already met them. He was ridiculed, excluded, and bullied, still, he persevered.
Through his perseverance, a few, a very few, people begin to support him. His eye was set on his goal – participation at the Olympics. He knew from the outset that he wouldn’t win, and his attitude challenged the prejudice of the athletes, coaches and administrators alike. But he sought help. He watched those who succeeded where he failed and learnt from them. He gleaned the little he could when other jumpers dismissed him and lapped up the techniques and exercises when an experienced jumper helped him.
Do you realise that where you want change, you are the one who will have to do the changing? Only you can set out to do things differently. Even when you do seek help or support, others can only help you through the process as you change. No one else can do it for you.
Failures happen. And when you try something big, the consequences are bigger, so start small. Learn some skills, practise, and keep going.
When you’ve done something embarrassing or you’ve been through a hard season, there is always hope. It might look different from what you pictured, but eventually the transition to something new will appear. Keep going. Keep looking for the something new that will lead out of your current slump. Eddie failed at multiple sports and disciplines before he actually reached the Olympics.
You have a future, even when your past is bleak and your failures cover you like bruises. What counts is not the victory, but the struggle.
Like Eddie, the fact that we face the fear and do life anyway, the fact that we put in the effort to improve, the very fact that we keep going, is enough reason to celebrate.
Your struggle is your story. Even the painful bits, even the moments that you tried and they didn’t work out. Your victories are also a part of your story. Others are encouraged by your victories because all of us struggle, whether seen or unseen. We’re not all going to have a movie made about our story, but that doesn’t mean that our struggle carries less worth.
All of us get off track in our thinking from time to time, we get focused on the medals and forget the dedication and achievement in just making it to the starting line.
When I stood beside Holmenkollen ski jump, I knew that I would never attempt that particular challenge. I wasn’t even tempted. But there are other things that are a part of my story, and you will have a different line up again. We each have our own challenges and fears, our own breakthroughs and victories. The victories are usually infused with the struggles; they don’t stand alone on an isolated pedestal.
Life is about participation, not winning. Who knew?
