The Paris 2024 Olympics And Its Life Lessons

The ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics has garnered worldwide attention. Old records are being broken. New records are being set. Many are breaking their back to put their nation on the global map. For some participants, this is the peak of their career even if they win no medal; a dream come true.

If you have a dream, observing happenings at the Olympics should be your dream. The athletes should inspire you. The gymnasts' efforts to put up a flawless show should leave you bewildered. How long every participant prepares to compete with the crème-de-la-crème should teach you a world of lessons.

Over the past few weeks, the participants have shown grit. Some have won and lost by a close margin. Others have broken a jinx and written their names in the annals of history. In all, there is a lot to learn. It is more than just sports. This is life playing out through sports.

Champions are not made overnight!
It takes a lot to win in life. Winning is not just a desire but action. It is a lot of work. Many desire to win but only the few who will work toward it will win eventually. Everyone you see representing their country at the Olympics has worked hard for years to earn their place. It did not take just a day to be where they are.

Every world champion at the Olympics has gone through a journey of failures. Some almost gave up on their dreams. Their patience as well as the commitment to their vision was tested. It took almost a decade for some to win their first medal.

In life, it takes a while to make champions. The failures build them up. The disappointments strengthen their foundation. Every success is a product of many years of failure. If you fail, always remember you are still on the success track.

Winning is not a thing of comfort!
The path that leads to success is lonely. Sportspeople train despite the weather. Not having enough sleep is not an excuse. Comfort and success are not neighbors.

Every Olympian denies themselves a lot of comfort to get the results we see. Behind the success of every winner is a world of sacrifices. Even though they may earn a lot, they still cannot eat like everybody.

Winning is sacrifice; a sacrifice of comfort. If you are too comfortable, the top is not a place for you.

Life is a competition even if you think it is not!

The Olympics is undoubtedly a competition. Life, however, is a competition too. Even when we are not competing with others, we are competing with ourselves. Our today is a competitor of what we achieved yesterday.

At the Olympics, everyone wants to be the best so they put forward their best foot. Similarly, we all want to be, at least, the best at what we do. No one, for example, starts a business to make losses. They want to be the best to attract the best of customers.

Even if you are running at your own pace, remember everybody wants what you want. Put in the work and while at it, aim for excellence.

Hard on the training ground, easy on the field!

If you see Simone Biles winning all the medals, her secret is training and a lot of it. Like all other Olympians, she puts in her world because what she does is her world. The training ground is where all the mistakes you do not see happen. It is where one has to be hard on themselves so it would look easy on the field.

In life, we cannot do without preparation. Preparation gives us confidence. When people are prepared for a task, how they walk into a room even tells it all. Proper preparation expands our limit of creativity. It makes winning look easy.

Those who win are not lucky. It is not because they found favor. It is because they prepared. Preparation is a stage one can never skip if one wants to win.

Anybody can make it to the top!
Almost every medal winner at the Olympics has a fascinating story to share. Some failed several times in their attempt to win a medal. Others were born in places where winning on such a world stage was only a fairy tale. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, they can boldly declare that nobody was born to be first… or last.

The top is for those who dare to not only dream but pay the price of that dream. You can be as good as or even better than any legend you admire as long as you are willing to make decisions that will take you to the top.

Winning is not a birthmark. No one was born to win naturally. No matter where you find yourself on the field of life, you can always finish your race if you dare to. Some may be privileged to be ahead of you but that should not be enough excuse. Keep your focus. Keep running.

Kobina Ansah is a Ghanaian playwright and Chief Scribe of Scribe Communications (www.scribecommltd.com), an Accra-based writing firm.