The mistake Simone Biles made that everybody should be talking about, but no one is
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the all-around final at the Tokyo Olympic, a day after she pulled out of the team competition citing the need to focus on her mental health. (Credit: Getty/AP)
By EEW Editors // Life Advice // EEW Magazine Online
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware that Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has been the talk of the world since removing herself from the competition during team finals in Tokyo citing mental health concerns.
The decision led to widespread discussions on mental health and amplified the voices of commentators pontificating about whether the iconic gymnast should have withdrawn. Whatever your stance on the matter, there is a larger issue at play and a big mistake the 24-year-old made that no one seems to be talking about but should be.
Simone Biles reacts after a challenging day for USA’s gymnastics team. (Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock
Biles’ greatest misstep is unrelated to her bounding all the way off the competition mat following one tumbling pass or carrying so much momentum on her beam dismount that she took three huge steps backward. By the way, she attributed her shaky performances to a phenomenon known as the “Twisties” that prevent a gymnast from knowing where they are in the air or where they will land.
Her worst stumble with the greatest ramifications was revealed in a July 28th tweet from the athlete’s twitter account—a revelation that has been liked over a million times and shared by more than one hundred thousand supporters. In the viral post, Biles said, “The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before.”
The problem is contained in that one sentence. It wasn’t until being lifted by millions of fans worldwide during the most vulnerable moment of her career that Biles understood that she has worth and value outside of her gymnastics career. Her mistake, then, was believing that her professional achievements and her personal worth are one and the same—a myth that many others believe too—and we should discuss it.
Whenever you confuse who you are with what you do, you set yourself up to be disappointed, discouraged, and depressed when your personal achievements fall below your expectations. When too much value is placed upon doing, and not enough emphasis is placed on being, your mental health and self-esteem suffer greatly.
To be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with being goal-oriented or striving to do great things. The problem comes in when you assume that low achievement diminishes your self-worth while high achievement boosts it. Making such an assumption is dangerous because goals cannot always be met, no matter how hard someone works or how disciplined they are.
Scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:11, “Time and chance happens to us all.” In other words, things beyond our control occur in our lives that set us back and hinder us from performing optimally and getting the results we want.
Sometimes, we will get sick. We will get laid off. Our finances will suffer. We may lose the home or vehicle. We won’t always get picked for the promotion. We won’t win the award. Someone will surpass our accomplishments and overshadow us.
Such is life.
Accepting this reality and then unlinking your sense of worth and value from advancement, achievements, performances, and awards will make you healthier, happier, and more stable.
Gold medal, silver medal, or no medal, you are valuable because you are you. This goes for Simone Biles and everyone else, too. It is a mistake to believe anything other than this: your life and career achievements are simply icing on top of the already awesome cake that is you.
Make no mistake about that.
