In Italy, this is the big week of the “rientro”: after a long hot August at the beach or mountains or just chilling at the lakes, it’s back to work, back to school, back to real life. Too often we get thrown into the mountains of work that needs to get done in this last stretch of 2024 and we just plow ahead. 

But what can we do to keep the momentum? How do we stay focused, inspired, and at peak performance? 

With the Olympics barely over and the Paralympics still on, I have been thinking a lot about – and have been inspired by – all the resilience, performance, and personal grit we’ve seen in the athletes. I have some key takeaways from these games that I plan to hold up to myself, when I start to lag, as symbols of excellence, mental fortitude, and resilience. I hope some of them will inspire you when you begin to falter:

Commit to being a VISIONARY MASTER at what you do.  This means clear goals, yes, but more importantly I think it means constantly improving your skills and the ease with which you do them. I think of Armand Duplantis, the Swedish-American pole vaulter who, despite having already won the gold medal, kept trying for more and thus broke his own and world records. Or Simone Biles, whose routines relentlessly pushed the boundaries of what is possible in gymnastics. Neither of them were looking only for the medal, they were looking for mastery at the cutting edge. 

Prioritize Mental Health: Take care of your mental well-being to maintain long-term success. Again, Simone Biles is a great example of this. Her decision to step back from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to focus on her mental health was a powerful statement. The fact that she recognized, validated and immediately addressed her feeling of “the twisties”, is to be lauded as it is one of the key components of sustained performance and at the heart of resilience – the ability to adapt to challenges and setbacks, using them as opportunities to grow. And look at the comeback! Way beyond global expectations.

Stay Authentic and keep a strong network around you: Those athletes who were genuine and transparent in what they did and said touched our hearts. I think of high jump rivals Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) and Mutaz Barshim (Qatar), who genuinely root for and stand up for each other- and who in the 2020 games, when they tied, agreed to share the Olympic gold rather than go to a jump-off. I also think of Tara Davis-Woodhall (Olympics, Long Jump, USA) and Hunter Woodhall (Paralympics, 100m, USA) – the husband-and-wife athletic couple, whose complete joy in each other’s accomplishment was contagious and uplifting…. I can only imagine how that must have fueled their determination in tough times. Time and time again, we hear these inspiring stories of how athletes create community and draw support from them, especially through tough times. They lifted each other up. (Check out the stories Lauritta Onye, (Nigeria) Uriel Conjura (El Salvador) amongst the many stories of the community)

Finally, I couldn’t help but notice how much:

The world is constantly shifting and evolving.  So many new and different competitors and styles were in play this year.  I am so excited for all those who won first-ever medals (and gold!) for their countries; Thea Lafond from Dominica in triple jump and Julien Alfred in 100m just to name a couple.  I also loved that Pakistan won the gold in a sport typically dominated by Scandinavians, as much as I loved the India-Pakistan camaraderie of the gold and silver medal winners, from two purportedly “conflicting” countries.  I think of Rigivan Ganeshamoorthy the Sri Lankan-Italian para-athlete who against all odds, doggedly tried three different sports before he found his sport (discus throw) – one which led him to Gold at the Paralympics. I could really see how the landscape is changing – new patterns, people, and abilities replacing the old, and often from unexpected sources. 

So as we go into our last quarter of the year, there will most likely be times when we stumble, and feel overwhelmed.  Who will you look to for inspiration – athlete or other? I’m looking forward to hearing your stories. Keep at it! And… “buon rientro”!