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Ok so today’s episode isn’t exactly about fictional TV. But you watch the Olympics on TV, dammit, so … we’re doing an episode on them!
Maybe I’m just a sucker, but I love the Olympics. You get to see people who have worked tirelessly for years – YEARS – finally enjoy the rewards of all that effort. You get to see proud parents. Tears of joy. Dramatic wins. And on top of all that, the Olympics has the most stunning athletic feats imaginable. Just think of the sheer GUTS it takes to be an Olympic ski jumper or to barrel down a tunnel of ice at eighty miles an hour with only a tiny slide underneath you. Color me impressed.
So call me a sucker if you want, but I’ll always be a fan of the Olympics. But since I’m also slightly obsessed with all things finance-related, I’ve also spent a good amount of time wondering about the money that goes into putting on such a spectacular show. The opening ceremonies, the infrastructure, the travel just to get there. It’s a pricey endeavor. So we’re dedicating this episode to examining all the financial goings-on behind the scene. We explored what it costs to be the host city. And the far more interesting question (I think) of what it costs to be an Olympic athlete.
We cover all that in the podcast, but for this blog post, I’d like to talk a little bit about the psychology of being an Olympic medalist. I was recently listening to a podcast by Glennon Doyle and her wife, Abby Wambach, who has won two gold medals for soccer. She described wanting to win an Olympic gold so fiercely and then, the moment she stepped down from the podium, thinking: but … now what?
That reaction is, I think, a lot more common than you might expect. In 2019, we set out to hike from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. We didn’t finish due to an overuse injury. But for many hikers who do finish, they really struggle with returning to a “normal” life after spending all day living outside and engaging with nature and people. Going back to a cube and a rigid schedule after that is tough. But I think beyond the lifestyle shock, there’s also dream shock. You’ve been working towards something, dreaming of something, striving, struggling, pushing, growing. And then … there it is. The northern terminus of the trail. Or the podium at the Olympics. Or the finish line at a marathon. Or the number in your bank account you’ve been working so hard to accumulate.
Here you are! You made it!
So … why do you feel so empty?
It’s because dreams make life interesting. Striving and chasing and wanting – that’s the juiciest marrow of life. There’s a cliche that the journey is the destination. But I think whoever coined that phrase got it just a little wrong. Yes, the striving and working – that’s the good stuff. BUT, one journey isn’t enough. The journeys (plural) are the destination. Because life is far too long for just one. Most people – certainly myself included – have an ever-changing, ever-constant need to challenge themselves and strive for another destination.
Sometimes the constancy of that need can feel annoying. Why can’t we just chill out and enjoy where we got for a while, brain? But the human need to keep pushing limits is an awesome force that won’t be denied. It’s why almost no one who achieves financial independence and no longer must work actually stops working. They keep stumbling on new ways to make work – because working is striving. And we need to strive.
Bringing this back to the Olympics – I think our collective need to dream is what makes the games so compelling to watch. Because watching them is a form of dreaming. We see those people who have been striving so hard for so long and we yearn with them and yearn to be like them. Maybe we even feel inspired to get up off the couch and try a new athletic feat we’ve never attempted before. And even though we may never throw a triple axel or set a downhill skiing record, we can all achieve incredible things if we set our minds to them like Olympians do.
So next time you hit a big milestone, first – CONGRATULATIONS! It’s an amazing thing whatever it was. But also, congratulations on your new blank slate. Having achieved one thing, you are now free to dream of a new mountain to climb. And that in and of itself is an exciting new venture. So go forth and dream. Go forth and struggle. Like an Olympian. And find yourself something chewy and challenging to fight for.