Simone Biles, dubbed the greatest gymnast of all time, made a shocking move to step back during the Summer Olympic 2021 Games in Tokyo. It seemed confusing from the outside because there was no obvious injury. Instead, Biles claimed it was due to her mental health and she wasn’t in the right mindset.
Simone bravely talked about the reasons why she did this in a few interviews. “I wasn’t in the right mindset.” Pointing out that mental health and exhaustion are real issues.
The USA women’s gymnastics team went on to get the silver medal. Could the team have placed first and gotten the gold medal had Simone just pushed herself to perform regardless of her mental state?
We place greater importance on physical ailments than we do on mental. Physical is easier to see and maybe easier to deal with. An injury for example like a sprained ankle is a perfectly understandable reason for Simone to step back. But an unseen, self-reported mental health issue?
Although invisible, our mental state, or mindset, affects us in very real ways. It can have physical consequences. Biles, as she pointed out, was pulling herself back while in her mental state before she caused herself physical injury.
What is a mindset?
As you know, this blog has the word ‘mindset’ in it. But what does mindset mean exactly?
A mindset is the way you think of something, how you respond/react to it, and how you perceive the world.
“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”
Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
It’s difficult to take into account other people’s perspectives when we interact. We know that one gesture in one culture may be friendly but in another culture, it would be seen as obscene.
In a more subtle way, we all have our own slanted view of the world. Created from our own experiences and our current emotional state, we don’t see true reality. Instead, we see our reality.
I plan to go more in-depth about mindsets in another post but for this one, we’re going to focus on the mindset regarding its connection to the body.
In the case of Simone Biles, her mindset affected her body. How can your mindset affect your body, your success in your endeavors, and ultimately, your happiness?
The mind is your limiting factor
It may seem easy to blame outside factors when you fall short of your goals. But those are excuses and excuses don’t help you improve.
The other limitation a lot of people focus on is their body. Maybe they feel tired all the time and blame their body for feeling sluggish. But it’s not because of their body; it’s because of their mind. They feel sad, unmotivated, and maybe even depressed.
For Biles, it wasn’t because of her body that she wasn’t able to perform her gymnastics but because of her mind. She wasn’t in the right mindset and so her body was thrown off calibration.
Even in regards to work, it may not be a physical ailment that limits your performance but your mental state. Employers are beginning to understand this, and that’s why using your sick leave to take a “mental health” day is allowed.
How can someone work well if his or her mind isn’t in it? Sure, we can sit in front of a computer and pound out work but will it be quality work?
Just as our reality is shaped by our mind, our success and ability to accomplish our goals are as well. In a lot of success and entrepreneur material, mindset plays a huge part. The mindset should be how a person gets started, keeps motivated, and follows through.
It makes sense that in regards to our body whether it is about athletics, keeping in shape, or getting our everyday activities and work done our mindset is very important.
You can try to force yourself to do an activity but if you’re not in the right mental space, it’s going to be extremely difficult if not impossible to accomplish that activity successfully.
How to create a good mindset
1. A mindset is flexible
A mindset is made up of your beliefs, motivations, and an idea of how you want to react to situations you may encounter. Although you should set up your mindset ahead of time, allow it to be modified as you gain experiences.
2. Check on yourself
Sometimes your mindset shifts on you and you don’t even realize it. Simone Biles was able to identify her mindset and understand that it was not the one she needed in order to do well at the Tokyo Olympics.
It’s hard to know yourself but if you find that you are not getting where you want whether that’s the weight goal on a scale or the desired promotion at work, take some time to reflect and check your mindset regarding your goal.
3. Take a break!
Give yourself the time and space to cultivate your mindset. Taking a step back will help you reflect further on what you actually want to achieve and how to best go about it.
Your mind needs time to relax just like your body does. It also needs good things given back to it. Taking care of yourself is not just about making sure the outside looks good. Getting your sleep, exercising, and eating right make you feel better but there are more mind-focused relaxation techniques you can use. It’s about nurturing and replenishing your mind.
Great ways to replenish your mind are to make a list of your accomplishments, do something fun, take a break from toxic people in your life, spend time with close friends and family, meditate, reflect through journaling, or spend time doing a hobby you love. And believe it or not, movies and shows aren’t always going to be the best activity for your mind especially when the wrong mindset goes on for too long.
Conclusion
“Happiness has to do with your mindset, not with outside circumstance.”
Steve Maraboli; Life, the Truth, and Being Free
There is a lot more involved in creating a mindset that will work for you. It’s also something that will need to be adjusted and refined over time. This post was just one aspect of how a mindset can affect physical and tangible aspects of someone’s life.
It’s nothing to be laughed at or dismissed. How we set up the way we think about the world affects how we interact with it. Which in turn, affects our life and us.
Your mindset affects what you do in your life. How successful you are at what you do feeds back into your mindset. When there is a shift, which is what happened with Simone Biles, we can be thrown off.
We shouldn’t punish ourselves when this happens just as we don’t punish ourselves for catching a cold. Sure, we can reflect on what we did that may have made it easier to catch it but ultimately we just need to let it play out and recover. Sometimes, the mindset shift happens and the best thing to do is to figure out how to get “back on your feet.”
How we find our way back to the mindset that was working or build a new one and move forward is challenging. But it is possible.
I believe if you want to do something well, it starts with your mindset. The same goes for finding your happiness or happier life. Mindset.
Live happier,
Nicole
Let me know what you think in the comments below! If you have any questions or concerns, head over to the Contact page and let me know there.
Related Posts
- Getting Your Sleep Matters: Sleep Better, Live Happier
- Learn to be Happy Through a Happier Mindset
- Deal with Stress Better
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12 replies on “The Right Mindset, According to Simone Biles”
It’s so important to take a break when you need one!
Agreed! Thank you for reading my post!
This is such a thought provoking post! I’m definitely shifting my mindset daily right now with this fourth wave of the blasted pandemic so thanks for the insight into reframing my focus.
Thank you for reading my post! I am in the same boat with you having to shift with this seemingly never-ending pandemic. I’m glad you found this helpful!
Lovely post, Nicole! Mindset is so important and with busy everyday lives, it’s crucial to be flexible! Breaks should be taken when needed without guilt. Thanks for sharing xx
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Thanks for reading, Lynn! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found some helpful tips in it. Being flexible with your mindset and being willing to take breaks may seem easy and obvious to do. But is difficult when you’re actually in the midst of a mindset shift. You’re absolutely right that we should be free of guilt when we take a break!
Great post Nicole! As many other readers have also mentioned, the pandemic has made it vital for us to embrace flexibility and recognize when a certain mindset of our own needs to be changed for the greater good. Thanks for the share!
Thank you for reading my post! Flexibility is difficult but sometimes necessary for a happier life. We can’t always control our situation but we can change our mindset and make it better for ourselves.
Understanding all the terms is complicated as are the situations. If you’re tired of something you wouldn’t want to do it e.g. she wasn’t mentally ready this year and breaks are always good. All interchangeable too. Good insights. Xx
A good way to sum it up. Listen to yourself and give yourself a break without feeling guilty. Thanks for reading!
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