Can we learn anything from an Olympian who didn’t win?

Shortly after the Summer Olympics finished this year, I had the opportunity to interview a Canadian Olympian who finished in last place in the Women’s Marathon. Yes, she finished 73^rd which was last place, considering that 15 other runners dropped out of the race. Her name is Dayna Pidhoresky.

So, can we learn anything from an Olympian who didn’t win, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’! And you may be interested in this story because with her finishing the race it says a lot about her and her story.

On Dayna’s flight to Tokyo and the Olympics, she unknowingly sat near someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Dayna, who is based in Vancouver, was required to quarantine for 14 days ahead of her marathon and had to forgo training during that time. Now consider that she is a marathon runner, the race is 26 miles 385 yards long or 42.185 kilometers and you can’t train for 2 weeks. This is not like getting off your couch and walking down to the corner store. This is a person who trains regularly to keep her strength and endurance up – then all of a sudden, she can’t train for the race of her life.

What would you do, if you couldn’t do something that you had wanted to do for, for years?

Would you make a half-hearted attempt, would you just quit, or would you make excuses?

I really think it depends on your family as my interview with Dayna has shown. She told me that her dad pushed her to be better and that her mom was very supportive. Although I am fascinated by Dayna’s comment after I asked her about her definition of success. She stated that success is working towards a goal and not giving up. Then she stated that the process is the most important. This was reinforced by an October 11^th 2021 article I read in Inc. magazine called ‘3 Life Goal Red Flags That Actually Prove You’re More Successful That You Think, Backed by Science’ written by Jeff Haden. In the article he wrote that; “Instead of defining success by a finish line – a number, a metric, a certain house or a certain car or certain public profile – define success by whether you get to do work you enjoy.”

Now considering both Dayna’s comments and the Inc. magazine article I think you can see that success is far different than what many people propose. Yes, having the best car or house on the block may make you feel happy for a short time, but tell me, why wouldn’t you want to have longer-term happiness? Yes, happiness in the process of living life.

Near the end of our conversation I asked her; ‘What is the single most important lesson you’ve learned in life?’ Her response was’ “Keep going and not quitting.”

My concluding questions for you are;

• Are you going to keep going and not quit?
• Are you going to start looking at success in a different way? and
• What can you do to support those dear to you in their life goals?