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On a lighter note this month, I wanted to share 14 lessons from the 2014 Winter Olympics. I'd be interested in hearing some of yours.
- The favorites do not always win. If we treated predictions as reality we wouldn't need to compete.
- Sometimes we think that the way things are is they way they must be. Having three award recipients (gold, silver, bronze) is arbitrary. Platinum medals could be awarded as well.
- We like binary stories, but life is more nuanced. These Olympics gave us good vs. evil; winner vs. loser; old vs. young; experienced vs. first-timer; hero vs. villain; and summer vs. winter.
- Single-mindedness, by definition, means that an individual is not well-rounded. For some this comes at an acceptable cost, while for others it takes an immeasurable toll on body and relationships.
- There will always be pretenders. Click on this link to read the story of one such couple.
- Winning and losing are often oversimplified. Placing 16th at the Olympics still means you are better than 7 billion people at your activity.
- Life is about relationships. Look how many athletes are inspired by those they love who have died or can't participate.
- While people share basic needs, cultural differences are real (click this link on to see an example).
- Curling needs a platform at least once every four years. In a world of professional Olympians, it is comforting that some people are participating for love of sport. (Curlers can be paid, but few are and fewer still earn significant dollars.)
- Which leads me to: Being enriched and gaining riches do not always go hand-in-hand.
- Looking good and communicating effectively do pay off. When you appear on screen for brief snippets, being physically attractive and reasonably articulate provide benefits.
- Three-minute bios obscure much of who people are, but demonstrate the power of an effective publicist or an adoring media.
- Pictures forge lasting impressions and in today's world there is a never-ending supply of pictures. Click on this link for one of the more memorable pictures (yet another involving a bathroom).
- Complete coverage may dilute the overall impact of a subject or event. My small sampling registered a lower level of interest in these Olympics compared to past ones; this despite the fact that you could record any event to be watched at your leisure.
Hope you are learning as you observe life each day!
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Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments!
You can understand each other - really!
Dr. Stephen Julian
Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Stephen Julian. All rights reserved. |
