3 Important Differences Between You and an Olympian

Olympic Games

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As a psychologist, I work with a broad range of interesting people. As a former college athlete and psychologist at a major university, I developed an unexpected sub-specialty: division I athletes. This experience, in turn, led to other athletes as word got out, including professionals and Olympians. To be clear, I am not a sports psychologist. I am not sought out to help athletes improve at their sport. Rather, I assist them with the inevitable stressors and demands they face while navigating sport-life balance, relationships, and identity concerns.

I learn something from all my patients, and this has made me a better clinician and person. Perhaps the most eye-opening lessons came from these professional athletes and Olympians. The insights transcend a specific sport since I have worked with players from varying leagues, including Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and multiple Olympic and Junior Olympic events. While all individuals, including elite athletes, have their own set of strengths and weaknesses, I have seen some important commonalities. As the Paris 2024 Olympics begin, I want to share some of these lessons so that you might benefit as well.

Olympians are Different (In a Remarkable Way)

Besides being exceptionally talented at their sport, these athletes put in more time than anyone else at their level. When practice is over for most athletes, the Olympian goes back to train some more. If others have a day off, they may use the time to focus on a particular aspect of their game that others have overlooked. I am reminded of hockey great Wayne Gretzky who recalled that when the other kids left the frozen pond to go to the movies, he stayed to play and practice some more, which leads to my next point.

Olympians Sacrifice

For athletes at the peak of their sport, there are sacrifices they make that most of us would not. They get up a little earlier. They stay a little later. They pass on college parties or choose to leave early to be ready for the next day’s training. This is not to say that elite athletes do not have fun or do not have relationships. Quite the contrary, the athletes I have worked with have extremely rich lives and prioritize loved ones just like the rest of us. They are just highly intentional with their time and energy. Most would not even see it as a sacrifice. They tend to love their sport, so there is no place they would rather be than playing it.

Olympians Are Mentally Strong as Well as Physically Strong

This is the most striking difference that I see in elite athletes. There are a lot of talented men and women in the world. It is the mentally strong individuals that rise to the top. What do I mean when I say mentally strong? Here are a few specific examples:

• They recover quickly. If you watch an elite athlete, you realize they are not perfect. They will make mistakes like the rest of their teammates or peers (albeit fewer). The difference, however, is that they tend to recover quickly from these mistakes. They do not let a single error turn into another one by being distracted. If they have a negative outing, they focus on what was not working and bounce back quickly for their next opportunity.
• They are emotionally intelligent. Scientists have studied elite athletes for years, and the findings are complicated. Some athletes are cool as a cucumber, pretty much all the time, such as Stephen Curry. Others tend to use emotion to fire themselves up (think John McEnroe or Travis Kelce). As you can see, it is not one size fits all when it comes to emotions. Rather, the elite athletes know what works for them, and they do not get baited into losing their emotional advantage.
• They do not think they will perform well; they know it. This is an important distinction based on past experiences, personal confidence, and visualization. These athletes have seen the outcome in their minds many times, long before they are living it. Their brains have already seen the victory, the goal, the win. Three-time medal winning skier, Lindsey Vonn famously said she ran “that race 100 times already in my head” before she competed. In this way, the final performance becomes muscle memory, rather than a new, unfamiliar experience. Elite athletes know they will excel because they have already seen it happen in their mind’s eye.

As the 2024 Paris Olympics unfold, I encourage you to root on your fellow countrymen and women. Celebrate their accomplishments, but also learn from their examples because some of their habits can help you win the battles you face in your own life.