So how did I handle the pressure? I had to remind my self that the hay was already
in the barn. I had already put in the work and at that point, all I could do was
try my best. I had anticipated that there could be bad weather when I got to the
Olympics, so I had to pretend that every day WAS the Olympics. That way, I would
be prepared for any eventuality when I got the Games. The preparations gave me the
confidence to know that I could handle any situation. The weather, or paparazzi
or spectators could convince me otherwise.
It's crucial to not only have a game plan. And not only have a Plan B, C, and D.
We all need the practice these game plans. Plan D could be just as important as
Plan A, and if we don't have experience dealing with it, the pressure is going to
blow us over worse than a gust of wind.
Having the practiced plans doesn't mean we don't feel the nerves. Whether in a board
meeting, trying to win over a big client, being confronted with an enticing chocolate
cake when you're on a diet, sending your child off to college or standing at the
top of an Olympic run, we all have fears. I bit my nails down to the nubs competing
in the Olympic Games. But I DID know that I was capable of winning that shiny medal
because I did everything I could to prepare.
And that shiny gold medal that means much more than the lifetime of work put into
it now sits in a red, velvet bag in MY house. I'm so glad that I didn't shrink from
those pressures but, instead, embraced them head on. It was worth every bead of
sweat.
I know personally, from both successful and tragic Olympic experiences, that once
the Games are over, no matter what the outcome, there's always a feeling of being
able to exhale after you've held your breathe for eight months. So if NBC produces
a video with a montage of Olympic athletes, set to the song "Under Pressure", you
may now understand the significance.