Change Your Thoughts

Blog Post #52

“The most important application of the law of cause and effect is that thoughts are causes, and conditions are effects. Your thoughts create the conditions of your life. When you change your thinking, you change your life. Your outer world becomes a mirror-image of your inner world.”

—Brian Tracy, No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline, Vanguard, 2011 (www.briantracy.com)

2022 Olympic Gold Medalist: Nathan Chen

“I’ve dreamed about this moment for a long time, but I never really actually thought it would be something that could come to fruition,” said 22-year old Nathan Chen after his gold medal skating performance at this year’s winter Olympics in Beijing.

So how did he do it?

Nathan was 3-years old when the twirling figure skaters of the 2002 Olympics in his hometown of Salt Lake City made an indelible impression on him. Encouraged by his mother and many fun trips to the Olympic ice rink, Nathan developed a passion for ice skating, a unique artistic flair, a consistent jumping ability and a deep desire to be an Olympic champion.

At each step along the way — from novice to junior to senior competitions — Nathan used the disappointments he encountered on the ice to help him sharpen his skating skills for success. His extraordinary skating talent was gaining attention worldwide.

When he made the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic team, after winning his second straight U.S. men’s title, he said: “I didn’t feel any excitement. I was with my sisters, with my family, and they were like, ‘Are you excited? Are you looking forward to this?’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah, totally.’ But deep down I was like, ‘Oh, man, I’m just dreading this experience. I am not looking forward to this. This is terrifying.’”

This fear and doubt combined with Olympic pressure upended Nathan’s performance in the men’s short program and he uncharacteristically found himself out of contention in 17th place. Fighting the urge to withdraw and head for home, Nathan then went on to performed a stunning, Olympic record-setting free skate that elevated him to fifth place overall.

In the four years leading up to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Nathan took a deeper look at what success really means to him. As he continued to hone his skating skills, he enrolled as a student at Yale so skating wasn’t his only focus and began working with a sports psychologist to help him identify and change the thoughts that were influencing his performance behavior and improve his mental game. A more relaxed version of Nathan emerged:

“I stopped going into competitions thinking I'm here to win. Whether I won, whether I lost, I wanted to gain as much as I could from the experience that didn't revolve around what sort of placement I got."
When asked about his anxiety on the ice at the start of the men’s short program in Beijing, Nathan said: "I was just trying to exude an air of confidence for myself. When you set your mind to do something, even if you don't feel like it, your body will naturally carry you to that feeling." *
"I try not to let emotions get the better of me, because I feel that I can control what I do on the ice the best when I'm in a cool, calm, collected state of mind.”
"It's about coming in with gratitude, with respect for what you do, respect for what all the other athletes do. Every single one of us deserves to win. Every single one of us at the Olympics earned, deserves this opportunity.”
The spiritual qualities of Nathan’s gold Medal Journey

Perseverance

The commitment to never give up.

* Willpower

Control exerted to do something or restrain impulses.

Calmness

Remaining in the present moment.

Gratitude

The channel through which Spirit flows.

What a spectacular journey it has been!

A Peace-Affirming Prayer

Peace fills my mind and flows through all my thoughts.

Peace fills my heart and flows through all my love.

Peace fills my soul and goodwill flows to all.

Peace fills my being and permeates all my activities.

Peace within. Peace without. Peace everywhere.

Peace in my mind. Peace in my heart. Peace in my soul.

Peace in me. Peace in my home. Peace in my country. Peace in my world.

Peace everywhere.

Amen.

Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.