LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE RIO OLYMPICS

Watching the Rio 2016 Olympics you can't help but attest to the fact that something important is going on. You sit through the javelin and discus throwing, and all other obscure sports because somehow, everything is now of import. The world is coming together to breed unity out of competition and even if your nation isn't there, you're sitting watching to see whose flag will be raised high above the others, because everyone loves winning, even if you're just a witness to it.

We love watching it happen, but just because we're not fit and firm athletes doesn't mean we don't have our sports-we write, we sing, we dance, we do math and ultimately we are trying to win, to beat our fears and outrun our dreams. So what can these more physical  sportpersons teach us about victory? A lot, and some of them, you've probably heard before.


Never Underestimate The Power of Support

Thiago Da Silva. A young, vibrant Brazilian with that hopeful look in his eyes. I must admit I wanted to see him beat. The crowd, filled with thousands of Brazilians was naturally rooting for him, and I wanted to take some sadistic pleasure in seeing their national pride squashed, you know, like when Germany thrashed Brazil at the last world cup*Mojojojo laughter*, but unfortunately it was just not to be. Somehow, the chanting and screaming and supporting actually worked! The kid actually beat the world defending champion to claim the gold in the pole vault, and me and my vicarious malevolence were put to shame. Tsk. So definitely, you should take advantage of home games. You should surround yourself with people that believe in you, people that want you to succeed almost as bad as you do, find your cheerleaders, and keep them close.



Preparation Is Key

Success, like failure, is not an event, but a process. It takes time, and what you do in that time taken is often the difference between success and failure. It's like good cooking people, put the right things in the pot, and over an extended period of time the heat will do the rest. Exhibit A, how to prepare for failure, my beloved country Nigeria represented in the Flying Eagles and sprinter-Blessing Okagbare. The former were being pimped as sure candidates for the Olympic gold medal in football, somehow these group of men were to summon some incredible amount of willpower to overcome the many challenges faced getting to Rio, and then overcome Brazil and Germany as well. Err, no. If the Minister and the entire government apparatus hadn't botched their preparation, I would've blamed it on the team itself. But the way those men played Germany, it was like they expected to lose, because thanks to our government, losing was all they were prepared for.
Blessing Okagbare should be a national hero, I don't know much about her, but I know there's much to be known. Winner of last years Common Wealth games this chicks got talent, but that's only one side of the coin. Watching her I can tell now here's someone who has all the raw ability to win this, but as she barely made it through her 200 meter heat I knew she wouldn't stand a chance in the finals. Not due to pessimism, but simply because between that Commonwealth win and now, I'd heard nothing of her, seen nothing of her, which means we weren't preparing her for the celebration of a win anyway. It's like saving the world in front of an empty crowd and then being asked to do it again a year later, you may say  she should've prepared with individualistic passion, but how is that suppose to match up against competitors with entire nation backing them?

Winners Focus on Winning, Losers Focus on Winners

This is so apt it sends chills down my spine. Envy as Chimamanda puts it in her novel Americanah, does not come without a hint of respect or admiration. To envy is a perversion of being challenged. In life you will meet people a little futlrther ahead than you, people who have more of an idea of who they are than you, people who have a firmer grip of the steering wheel and are determinedly going where you're headed faster than you, and that's okay. But like this swimmer in this race, you must realise that you occupy your own lane, and the difference between envy and being challenged is that, when challenged you keep your eye on the finish line, when envious you keep your eye on the person winning. A winner realises it's his race, his lane, his finish line, everybody else is irrelevant. I saw this play out in the water and on the track with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt respectively.

When You're The Best, Know You're The Best

In a Maxwell book I read this "A leader must know, a leader must know that he knows, a leader must be able to make it abundantly clear to those about him that he knows." One of the things you've gotta know without an inkling of doubt is that you're the best you that there is. The first step to becoming the best runner, is knowing that you're the best you running. Looking at Usain Bolt, now there's a guy that just loves himself, he said so himself on CNN (or BBC, but really, details) that "Usain Bolt is awesome." He didn't say Usain Bolt is an awesome runner, no he said Usain Bolt is awesome. This dude knows he's the best, the world watched as the American Gatlin burst forward at th gun and left Bolt behind in a trail of runners. But about 50 meters from the finish line, Bolt pushed and pushed and came first. You can't go from third to last to first in seconds without knowing despite you're current situation that you, my dear reader, are the best. (Except of course you're standing next to me-I'm better!) Point being, be the Usain Bolt in your story, know you're the best, because the Gatlins of this world get forgotten, like I've already forgotten his first name (Michael maybe? I hope he doesn't read this though, nothing to be ashamed of getting the silver.) But if he does get mad that I'm using him as the sorry end of my tale, he must remember that winners



Keep Their Head

Neymar almost lost it, but he regained it. Playing Colombiana the Brazilians had their work cut out for them, but Neymar the captain-save for one sole outburst- stayed level headed throughout the 90something minutes. Because they were one goal ahead and if Colombiana wanted to play rough, that was their business. In the end Brazil won anyway, and that was because aggression against your competitor is more likely to get you a card than a gold. What you should be attacking is the ball, the net, the penalty box. You shouldn't let frustration eat at you like a termite, life no be beans. You stay hard and keep a thick skin knowing life may not be fair but you are favoured.



Give It Your All

Sometimes to stand on the podium, you have to crash past the finish line. This was the case with Miss Miller, who having gone head to head and toe to toe with the world defending sprinter, had no option but to dive past the finish line and secure first place. Th race was super tight, but Miss. Miller was desperate, she wanted it bad, like Michael Jackson bad, and some would say she even played dirty, to get it. Now of course you want to win in style most of the time, like Usain Bolt, hitting his fist against his chest as he had put a considerable margin between himself and his competitors, but there would come a day when some young Miss. Miller would come along and attempt to put a smudge on what has been an outstanding career, and if Miss. Miller just so decides to dive past the finish line, then you better be ready to swim! Give it your all.

Talent, Skill and Strategy

Talent is what you got naturally, skill is what you got over time, strategy is how you made use of it all. Tis is the TSS that makes all the difference. There was a man who ran the 10000 meters race, who goes by the name Mo Farah who is of America. It was in this race that it came to my notice that in a race you don't just run, you also have to outsmart your opponents. The Kenyans in this race tried to force Mo Farah-favourite for the win to ditch his plans by picking up their pace early in the race and forcing him to run faster in order to keep up. They took turns leading the charge, one after the other had waned. Mo Farah could tell it was a concerted effort to see to his downfall, but greatness out strategises them all. Mo Farah kept cool, he was basically fifth till the last lap when he took off and blazed past the Kenyans. It really does tell you a lot, people will look down on you because you're in fifth place, because you're not leading the pack, because you seem to be behind. But you've got to know your strategy, you've got to know why you're there, why you're being thrifty, keeping your head down, because you've got a strategy that needs you to be in fifth place, before you can be in first place.

Finally, this life's a great big competition, you've got to be ready to do whatever you do in whatever weather. The female discus throwers-even the worlds greatest-were throwing duds because what, rain was falling? I had to sit down and waste minutes of my precious life watching a stalled Olympics because the weather conditions were affecting their performances. Really, world class athletes? Well of course I stuck a snobbish nose in the air and said what utter nonsense it was. In training you should train in every possible condition, be ready for anything. Don't go catching a cold, or an attitude, like this brunette.