Seven lessons we can all learn from Olympians + Sponsor Spotlight

photo credit fit fab cities

Like I said earlier this week, my athletic career began and ended in the outfield of 6-year-old t-ball. (there was one year of ballet thrown into the mix, but yet again, I was put in the back of the recital). But that doesn't mean that there is nothing to be learned from Olympians.

1. We all have different talents. The Olympics are the epitome of niche skills. Some athletes are only there to compete in one event in one sport. Find what it is you excel at and focus your energy on being the best you can be. And yes, even sliding a hunk of quartz down ice with brooms is a talent; so go find yours.

2. Willpower to step away from the jar of cookie butter. When your body is your job, you have to learn self-discipline when staring into the depths of the pantry, fridge and freezer. Thankfully, my body is not my job, so bring on the Biscoff.

3. If at first you don't succeed, try again in four years. Unless you are a gymnast because then, chances are, you will be too old to try again in four years. But for the rest of us, failure is not an ending. Often, you learn more from your failures than you learn from your successes and come back stronger than before.

4. Even when you compete individually, you can still be proud of your teammates. You are a part of something bigger than yourself. It may be every athlete for themselves in may events, but they are also members of a team. Olympians are thrilled (at least on the outside) when Team USA wins medals. You, too, can cheer on your friends and coworkers when they succeed and win awards.

5. Being young can work to your advantage. Often I think that I have to wait until I'm older and more experienced to achieve great things. But that is no excuse to wait around to begin. When you are young you believe that the world is yours for the taking and are more likely to take big risks that bring big rewards.

6. It takes 10,000 of hours of practice to become an expert. Ok, so Malcolm Gladwell actually said this. But I can only imagine that Olympians have put in well over 10,000 hours of practice and competition to be where they are today. Success does not happen overnight.

7. Know where you want to be and then determine the steps it will take to get you there. It's important to have an end game in mind first. Set your sights high, make lofty goals. Later, you can figure out just how you will achieve it.

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Megan of The Artistic Brunette

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I'm a lover of music, coffee, seeing beautiful places and life! Visit my blog to learn more about amazing places to get a bite to eat, countries and places to explore, my latest life endeavors and tips on navigating a career as a 20something. Come join the music over at The Artistic Brunette and let's be friends!

If you could have dinner with one person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

I would love to have dinner with Gustavo Dudamel. Do you know who he is? He is the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Geeky I know, but that is the music side of me coming through. When you see his curly black hair and pure passion for music, you will agree. 

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Kym of Travel Babbles

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My name is Kym and I blog over at Travel Babbles. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, and I currently live in Denver, Colorado with my husband TJ and our tubby English Bulldog, Brutus. You can learn more about all of us here. 

I started blogging back in 2010 when we moved to Germany for the first time because my husband signed a contract to play hockey over there, and since then I've documented our travels between Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Texas, and a second stop in Germany. 

While Travel Babbles simply started out as a personal blog for my dad and grandmother, it's slowly evolved into my creative outlet, my diary, my recipe book, my photo album, and my travel journal. It's become a collection of my favorite things, pieces of my heart, our hockey life, our loss, our fertility journey, what inspires me, and the many things that make me smile. 

If you could have dinner with one person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

I would love to have dinner with Mila Kunis because she's my current girl crush :)

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