Motivation from Simon Biles

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Motivation from Simone Biles

Last week, Simone Biles won gold in the Olympic gymnastics all round competition becoming the first American to win the honor twice. Simone had previously won gold at the 2016 Olympic games before withdrawing from the 2021 games in Tokyo due to mental reasons.

The media has followed Simone’s journey closely with many voicing critical statements after she withdrew in 2021 due to the ‘twisties’. There is now a new Netflix docuseries that tells Simone’s story.

Whether or not you have been following Simone’s journey, here are 3 ways to use it as inspiration:

Trust yourself: In 2021 Simone withdrew from the games. Instead of listening to her coaches and the media, she trusted herself. When others called Simone a quitter and a choker, Simone stayed true to herself and made the best decision possible. She didn’t need the two cents of others who, as she put it, couldn’t even “do a cartwheel.” Similar to Simone, we could all benefit from blocking out negative comments and trusting ourselves.

Resilience takes time: After Simone withdrew in 2021, she couldn’t prove her resilience in one day, one week, one month or even one year. It took several years of hard work and training that allowed her to come back, compete on the global stage, win gold and put her resilience on display for the world to see. Just like Simone, we could all benefit by remembering that putting our resilience on display takes time.

Decide for yourself when you’re done: In 2021 at the age of 24, Simone could have decided to hang it up. After all, she had become the best in the world at gymnastics and proven it by wining an Olympic gold medal in the women’s all around in 2016. Training for the Olympics requires an intense regimen and with most gymnasts retiring in their early 20s, it would have been totally understandable for Simone to move on with life after gymnastics. Instead, Simone listened to her body, decided that she had more in the tank and won gold in Paris. Similar to Simone, we can all benefit from deciding for ourselves when we are done.

Thank you Simone for inspiring us all with your hard work and fortitude. Let’s have a great week!