Vincent Van Gogh captured the essence of one’s ability potential in a letter that he wrote to his brother: “…principles are good and worth the effort only when they develop into deeds…it’s good to reflect and to try to be conscientious, because that makes a person’s will to work more resolute and turns the various actions into a whole…for the great doesn’t happen through impulse alone and is a succession of little things that are brought together…it’s the same with other things as it is with artistic matters…the great isn’t something accidental; it must be willed.”
What does it take to make a winning Olympian? Details may vary among different individuals, but I agree that greatness takes willpower which I define as grit. Research psychologist Angela Duckworth defines grit as “the power of passion plus persistence.” Grit is exercising discipline, a basic human need.
However, grit is not the only consideration in a person’s successful outcomes. One’s mental health is the secret sauce of success.
We can thank Simone Biles for educating folks about the importance of one’s mentally healthy approach to her dangerous-but-oh-so-beautiful sport. When she needed to drop out of most of the Olympic competition in Tokyo, many treated her decision harshly; she was expected to “push through,” and deny her doubts. Unfortunately, those who critiqued Biles misunderstood the situation.
Betty Okino, a 1992 Olympic medalist, explained that a gymnast can die if one cannot land on their feet (and end up landing on their head). Gymnasts call their doubts “the twisties,” a mental block where one has difficulty grasping their acute spatial ability to sense and control airborne moves. It feels as if their body and brain have a disconnect.
Biles did push through calf pain in the Paris Olympic qualification round this weekend, aiding her team in climbing to the top of the leaderboard. Biles told Hoda Kotb that she used to think of psychotherapy as a weakness. Now she has learned to speak about trauma.
Biles is not alone in addressing her mental health needs as an elite athlete. The comeback swimmer Caeleb Dressel made a decision to take 8 months off after the Tokyo Olympics to regroup in meeting his mental health needs; he has worked with a therapist weekly for 2 years.
According to Jess Bartley, senior director of psychological services for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, 15 psychological service providers worked with 1,200 athletes last year. Athletes grapple with such questions:
- What is the place that sport has in your life?
- How is your identity tied up in this?
- What does it mean to make, or not make, the Olympic Games?
The Paris Olympics has a 24/7 hotline with mental health counselors who speak 70+ languages. This year athletes may seek services until 4 years post-Olympic week. Elite athletes are role models in caretaking one’s bodymind without shame.
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
311. How do you define your own identity?
312. When do you need extra willpower or grit in your life?
Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog 
I was very interested in her description of what the “twisties” feel like. This reminds me somewhat (I hope the result of normal aging!) when I have to stop my car at a curb and take a moment to figure out the route I should be taking, because my mind has suddenly gone blank on that, and I’m not sure I’m remembering which way to go. But she has no opportunity to stop and reflect while doing a routine! All the gymnasts are amazing! Good that’s it’s finally acknowledged that sports require mental health care as well as physical training.
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Yes, we can be grateful to these elite athletes who are leading the way to an acceptance of mental health as just part of the human condition.
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