Why do we put people on pedestals during the Olympics?

Team USA's Evan Lysacek (Yuri Kadobnov/Getty Images)

Because they’ve placed in the top 3 positions in the world - within a particular event, within a particular sport. Tiger Woods was placed on a pedestal by many of us for the same reason – because he was the dominant player in the world – within a particular sport.

For Tiger, and the Olympians, that is the only reason that they’re on the pedestal: dominance within one event or one sport – they were not put there for any other reason.

They may have other very strong  traits or qualities in addition to their athletic ability but, we usually don’t know much more about the person except for their one, dominant skill. Each person that you and I have placed on a pedestal was put there because they were good at some THING.

What do we do to athletes, musicians, actors and politicians whom we’ve placed upon a pedestal when they show vulnerability in another aspect of their lives?  We crucify them!  We act as if we expect them to be perfect role models in every area of their lives – husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, role-models  – just because of their proficiency in one particular area.

How long would you and I last if we were one of those placed upon a pedestal by others?

Should we be placing people on pedestals above us in the first place?

Is it fair that we quickly push people off their pedestals and begin belittling them as soon as they reveal that they’re human and imperfect in other areas of their lives?

My name is Bob and I’m not perfect. Phew! I’m glad that I got that out of the way so that your expectations will be lower.  It’s so easy for me to say that because, despite my daily efforts, I understand that I fall short of what I’m capable of becoming. I’ve been given a tremendous amount of potential and I have NOT utilized all of it – yet.

Although I wouldn’t mind being put on a pedestal because of my relatively medium height (I’m short!), I don’t belong there.  If each of us were to be put  on the ideal pedestal, it would be one which automatically adjusted so  that each of us would be at identical heights. Can you picture each of us at exactly the same height looking eye-to-eye with Tiger, Gold Medal Olympians, musicians, politicians and other people whose internal value is exactly the same as yours and mine?

You see, although we have different jobs, incomes, faiths, languages and skills, we all have the same internal spiritual value.  We’re all part of the same universal spirit. Each person’s spirit is valued equally by the only One capable of putting a value on you.

We’re all part of the same universal spirit. We all came from the same creator.

We’re all being drawn and called toward our creator and spiritual perfection like a flower is drawn toward the sunlight.  We’re seeking the light. We’re seeking love. We’re seeking a feeling of unity and oneness.

My position in the world is not above you.  It’s not below you.  It’s beside you walking hand-in-hand.

The only person who can see you as less valuable than any other person in the world is YOU. It’s not our financial net worth that matters.  It’s not our intellectual net worth (IQ) that matters. It’s not our physical net worth that matters most either. The only thing that is lasting and permanent that we’ll take with us upon our departure from this earthly realm is our spiritual net worth.

How much time are you investing on a daily basis in your spiritual capital?

When we accept the idea that our spiritual value is the same as every other person’s, we begin looking at every person in the world as a peer – as a spiritual brother and sister.  Each of our brothers and sisters has received some sort of spiritual gift but, that gift does not make them any more valuable than any other person.  Your spiritual esteem allows you to see each person as one who complements you.  Our unique gifts and talents complement those of the people around us.

When joined together in one spirit, humanity becomes complete and whole. When we stop fighting each other, this will be the end result.

Why do we resist what we truly desire?

So, although we can recognize that each person has gifts and some people excel in a particular area, no one belongs on a pedestal above you. Each of us is allowed to be an imperfect human who is striving for perfection.  How do we accomplish this quest for spiritual perfection?

It becomes very easy for us to notice, recognize and acknowledge the spiritual beauty that’s in others once we realize it in ourselves. We develop and nourish our souls by feeding them with soul food – silence, meditation and prayer. We move toward perfection as we move into unity with our souls.  Moving toward unity with our soul is a deliberate move toward oneness with the God within.

Our souls need to be nourished, fed and nurtured much like our bodies and minds. The soul food which is digested on a daily basis, brings our bodies and minds into oneness with our souls and into oneness with our Creator. Once this occurs, we feel a very strong sense of connectedness to ourself, to God and to all other people.  We move from a state of competition into one of cooperation.  We move from states of envy and despair into ones of compassion, love and joy.

Although I exercise on a daily basis, I know that eventually my body is going to die. This is guaranteed.

Although I exercise my mind on a daily basis through recitation of affirmations and through learning, I know that my mind will eventually fade away or die with my physical body. This too is guaranteed.

I feed my soul on a daily basis because this is the piece of my being that is truly me. Our soul is the only part of our being that will be with us forever.  Because of this fact, this is where I spend a disproportionate amount of my time. I’m intentionally investing in that part of me that will never die – guaranteed.

When my soul is healthy, I feel good about myself, the world, and all of the people in the world. It is a feeling of joy and oneness with God and with all of humanity.

You and I became the recipients of Gold medals at birth – our souls.  We must become silent and go inside ourselves in order to find, retrieve and nurture this gift. Once this gift is acknowledged, you’ll notice the Gold medal worthiness inside of all people just waiting to be recognized.

Team Germany's Eric Frenzel (Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images)

Recognize the vibrant, living soul inside yourself first and then you’ll see it in others quite easily.

No one deserves to be on a pedestal above you and no one deserves to be in a position below you.

The goal is to be united in spirit with one another.

Our souls are longing to be acknowledged by us and united with God.  Once this occurs, we’ll then seek unity with all beings.

Listen to this Post-
 

Does anxiety ever prevent you from succeeding? Does it ever keep you from being as “good as you should be”?  If so, you have a lot in common with [tag]Olympic athletes[/tags] and professionals from every vocation imaginable. Here’s what one group of elite Olympic athletes recently did to help them eliminate or significantly reduce their anxiety and unleash their athletic potential.

The United States Olympic Swim team invited in The Pacific Institute to conduct a seminar for their athletes prior to the FINA world Championships. The aim of the seminar was to “turn the athletes’ minds into bunkers that fortify them against self-doubts”.

Soon,  ABC’s Good Morning America is scheduled to air a piece on the Seattle-based company and the role that they’ve played with the United States Olympic swim team. The segment is a follow-up to an article in the New York Times by Karen Crouse on 7/26/09- “Avoiding the Deep End When it Comes to Jitters”-, which talked about how even the United States Olympic swim team must prepare themselves to perform up to their potential.

Are you telling me that even Olympic athletes need assistance in order to be able to perform up to their potential?  YES- we all do! Studies show that most of us are only utilizing about 10% of our potential.

How can Olympic athletes experience self-doubt and perform beneath their potential?  When expectations from those around us are high, when we’re trying to perform better than we “know we are” and when we’re trying to perform in environments that are out of our comfort zones, our brains start creating negative (avoidant) thoughts that tell us to “go back where we belong”. Where do we belong? Back with the familiar: at the old job, at the familiar pool, with the old friends, with the old ways of doing things.  That’s why trying to do anything new or different can be so challenging.

Do you every experience self-doubt?  Do you every question your own ability to do something that you know that you’re good at when you have to “do it” in front of a larger audience or in a different setting? Does your negative self-talk ever kick-in when you’re tired, alone or about to try something new?

Pressure and anxiety occur when we try to perform better than we know ourselves to be. There is no pressure when we’re relaxed and performing in areas that are “comfortable” to us.

The key then is for you and I to become comfortable (familiar), in our own minds, with the new level of performance that we desire. So, how do we become comfortable and relaxed prior to swimming the race or giving the presentation?  We must be able to “see it” first in our own minds.

The Pacific Institute’s Project Director Brian Goodell – a two-time Olympic gold medalist- was one of the people contributing in the seminar for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team on how to utilize visualization techniques and achieve optimal performance.

Why do U.S. Olympic team members need to visualize? Because they get anxiety and experience moments of self-doubt just like you and I do whenever they’re in new environments or away from what’s familiar to them!

In order to reduce or eliminate the anxiety, athletes visualize themselves performing up to their potential before they ever get into the pool. They’ve rehearsed and visualized the event in their own minds where they can see themselves performing at a high-level of performance against the greatest competitors in the world in front of thousands (or millions) of people. They’ve already used their forethought to prepare for any obstacles that might be ahead of them and to visualize how to go over, under, around or through the obstacle. They’ve already successfully finished and won the race in their minds before they ever stepped into the pool!

I’ve been successfully utilizing these techniques for myself -and physically- and for my partners around the world for many years. Once we set goals for ourselves, we can use the visualization process to assimilate these new ideas of quality and quantity of performance into our minds safely from the comfort of our homes and offices before we ever have to do it for real!