The Paris Olympics has been a joy, a wonder, an occasional head-scratcher, and a living answer to the question, “What would happen if you went all in?”
And the answer?
- Medals
- World Records
- Olympic Records
- Personal Bests
- Instagram Follows
And also . . .
- Injuries
- Crushing disappointments
- DNF
- Finished last
And also . . .
- “I gave it my all.”
- “I left it all out on the track, field, mat, floor . . .”
I’m guessing some folks held something back. It’s understandable. Most of us do. Even elite performers have egos. The benefit of holding back is not learning the answer to the question headlining this missive.
“If I’d just trained harder,” “If I hadn’t lost focus,” or “If I hadn’t taken ‘no’ for an answer,” all provide tiny but important margins of psychological safety.
For most of us, the call to go “all in” seldom arrives or is seldom heard. It’s not usually a welcome guest.
But what would happen if you took up the challenge? To go “all in” on something that matters to you. It could be a big thing. It could be a small thing.
Just once?
And maybe again?