{"id":8690,"date":"2016-08-06T16:36:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T11:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/?p=8690"},"modified":"2016-08-06T16:57:18","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T11:27:18","slug":"how-to-achieve-an-olympian-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourdost.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/how-to-achieve-an-olympian-mindset.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Steps To Achieving An Olympian Mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"

A total of 241 athletes from 14 different countries participated in 9 sports in the first edition of the Olympics in 1896. A hundred and twenty years later, there are 11,239 athletes, from 207 countries are participating in 28 different sports in the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio.<\/p>\n

While that is close to a 4500% increase in participation<\/strong>, the total number of participants are still a very small fraction of the world\u2019s population. What sets these people apart from the rest of the world? What has got them to represent their country at the grandest stage of them all? <\/span><\/p>\n

We went through the lives of the greatest Olympians in the world, and startlingly, there were a few uncanny things that were common among all of them. Yes, they possessed god given talent, but if not for the insane amount of work they put in. <\/span><\/p>\n

They have achieved an Olympic state of mind and here\u2019s what you need to do to achieve it:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Learning from mistakes<\/b><\/h3>\n

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If there is one thing Olympians do well, it\u2019s learning from mistakes. Legendary basketball player and Olympic gold medalist Michael Jordan is known for this quote – <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.\u201d – Michael Jordan<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Perhaps the foremost important attribute to any kind of success is being able to impassionately self-reflect and see what went wrong. In most cases when athletes fail, they are the first to admit that they made a mistake and they focus on making sure that it never happens again. Be it Saina Nehwal, after <\/span>her loss in the 2015 world championship<\/span><\/a> finals or even as recent as Vinesh Poghat, who was thrown out for being overweight at the Rio Olympics qualifiers, <\/span>only to come back and seal her berth a few months later<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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According to professor of psychology at Stanford University, Carol Dweck, one of the defining characteristics of Olympic winners is a growth mindset (as opposed to a static mindset), which allows athletes to constantly learn from mistakes. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can <\/span>read more about her theory here<\/span><\/a>, but it\u2019s most succinctly described in this infographic –<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
Image source –\u00a0Linked<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. An incredible work ethic<\/b><\/h3>\n

This video about the 2016 NBA MVP Stephan Curry beautifully describes the need for a phenomenal work ethic for Olympic level capabilities – <\/span><\/p>\n