What the Olympics taught me about OVERRIDE!
What the Olympics taught me about OVERRIDE!
Living in Paris I had a front row seat to Paris 2024. It got me seeing how examples of OVERRIDE! are all around us, and what makes life exciting.
If we travel back in time to before the Olympics Opening Ceremony on July 26, 2024 it was hard to find anyone in Paris excited for the J.O [Jeux Olympiques]. There was a lot of grumbling and complaining and living into Parisian stereotypes. Most Parisians did what they do every summer, they left town. While low expectations are what have helped me survive my 15 years in France as an expat/immigrant for many French people they saw the Olympics as black and white. I wrote OVERRIDE! What if there was another way? as a reminder that we need to think beyond black and white (or as the latest season [4] of Emily in Paris would remind us, to embrace the ambiguity) and the 2024 Olympics got to be a masterclass in that.
If we go into a situation thinking it’s going to be a failure a lot of time that will be the outcome (Part 2 of OVERRIDE! explores mindset and how we see the world in part shapes our reality). Luckily, there was a team in charge who saw and believed there was ANOTHER WAY. They not only conceived the ideas, dreaming big with an Opening Ceremony on the Seine, and iconic venues in the center of Paris, they actually made the come to life: archery at Invalides, BMX, break dance, and skateboarding at Place de la Concorde, fencing and taekwondo inside the Grand Palais, and beach volleyball at Eiffel Tower stadium. Often we get stuck in the idea phase without the execution, but these visions were seen through and brought to life, made extra impressive knowing how much red tape and bureaucracy there is in France! It took a certain level of audacity to even imagine any of this as a possibility. In that process, someone had to override a whole lot of “c’est pas possible.”
In case you missed my Instagram reporting and article for Olympics.com, spoiler alert, the Paris Olympics were a roaring success, so much so that the Parisians who left started to feel FOMO (I know I influenced at least one to come back early, and she had the time of her life). Mainstream media even picked up on the change of heart and despite all the fears and complaints, reporting on how everything went smoothly, and the change of heart of Parisians. As someone on the ground, I’ve never felt anything quite like it. So much joy and delight. There was magic in the air. (Good thing not everyone paid attention to the naysayers.)
A lot of the messaging we received leading up to the Games included instructions to work from home, stay away from public transportation, and not to order packages during the Olympics. There were reasons to fear and dread millions of tourists coming into the city. At the same time, it’s pretty much once in a lifetime that the Olympics come to your city. It’s a reminder again that two things can be true at once. (See page 168, chapter: “Two things can be true at once.”) Things may be more complicated, and they can also be worth it.
Having watched the docuseries “Simone Biles Rising” leading up to the Olympics I was reminded of how dark times were during the pandemic. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics athletes had to compete without their support system there. Masks hid smiles. On TV at a bar, I saw a replay from a 2020 Tokyo cycling medal ceremony where the athlete had to put their own gold medal on. Times have changed.
It was at the Tokyo games that Biles defied odds and expectations, not by winning gold, but by deciding to pull out of the competition, citing the “twisties” (a term not normalized until years later on “Ted Lasso”). The times I grew up in trained us to work hard at all costs, even our health. Despite any external pressures, Biles trusted herself and had to shut out criticism and unasked for commentary. (What is “weak” anyway?). In the docuseries you can tell the fact that she listened to herself and her body saved her life. (See page 117, chapter “Logic + intuition.”) We override what we know deep down all too often, but in this case Biles was able to override societal expectations. She had to let go of being the constructed view of what it means to be a top athlete and live her own truth.
While we can’t erase the past, I can’t help but think these lived experiences helped us appreciate Paris 2024 even more. I was fortunate enough to see Simone Biles on the first night of the team competition in Paris (ironically thanks to a woman who came to my book party earlier that month, further reminding you to celebrate your endeavors!). One thing that was so clear was that she was having FUN out there. The joy of the athletes was palpable and the crowd felt it too. The docuseries talks about the evolution of gymnastics and how it’s more athlete-centric (vs. grooming gymnasts to look and act a certain way, which is the era I grew up in). A 27-year-old gymnast doing moves that no one else in the world can do also feels like a new era. Simone isn’t doing this to prove herself to anyone else, she’s doing it for her. That’s where the internal override takes place.
For her gymnastics teammate Sunisa Lee this summer’s gold medals were extra meaningful as doctors had told her that she’d never do gymnastics again after being diagnosed with a kidney disease. There was clearly something in her that inspired her to keep going even with the setbacks and authority figures telling her what was possible—or not. She only added to her hardware at the Paris games. It reminds me of when everyone told me I couldn’t stay in France after grad school, but despite what they said, I kept going and figured it out for myself. (See page 15, chapter “Uncommon choice.”) I suspect it all unfolded as a series of decisions over time rather than muscling and forcing it to be true. When life throws us a curveball it can take some time to regain trust of ourselves.
Another favorite voice was of the Games was women’s rugby sevens player, Ilona Mayer. During the Olympics, her Instagram account grew by over 3 million. It’s not that kind of growth that interests me. It’s the messaging that got me. She’s the first to talk about her broad shoulders that don’t fit in with traditional beauty standards, while also normalizing her love of red lipstick and feminine touch. She’d point out how the Olympic Village was full of so many athletes with different body types, and the beauty in that. I’ve come to see that OVERRIDE! is a lot about developing fierce self-belief, and she’s someone who embodies that idea, regardless of what the world around her says. The best part is that she clearly has fun with it (while also fully acknowledging she’s human and comments from others can still hurt her). She’s SHOWING us there’s ANOTHER WAY.
It’s been a year since the movie “Barbie” struck theaters by storm (that movie represented another major override of outdated messaging I received while growing up from movies and TV. See page 67, chapter “Stereotypes and representation.”). Another side of OVERRIDE! that struck me was that that beloved athletes don’t all have to look like Ken. “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik is a self-proclaimed nerd who got compared to Clark Kent when he put his glasses on the side of the chalk bin to go do his thing on the pommel horse. I loved that he not only specialized in one apparatus, doing it really well rather than trying to do it all, he essentially does it blind, reminding me so much of what we do is really about feel. Also, while his name is new to me (and most of us), the reality is that he’s been hard at work behind the mainstream scenes for years.
In France, the table tennis brothers Felix (17) and Alexis (20) Lebrun took us all by storm when Felix won bronze in singles, and the two were 2/3 of the French team who took another bronze. The brothers, who could pull off saying they were twins, don’t look like your stereotypical Olympian, but it was a great reminder that we all have different talents we can excel at. It was also very surprising just how invested I, who have never watched table tennis in my life (beyond playing ping pong for fun), became in the sport. It helped that they happened to be playing during one of the random events I bought to experience different sports. I had no idea who they were at the time, or that they’d be playing until the day before. OVERRIDE! is about letting yourself be pleasantly surprised, so much so that you’re out and about and you have to check your phone to see who won the latest table tennis match. OVERRIDE! is about staying open to new experiences rather than fixed in ways, saying “I don’t like that. It’s not for me” even if we’ve never experienced it for ourselves. (See page 130, chapter “Fixed vs. growth mindset.”) It’s amazing how we can surprise ourselves if we’re willing to give something a try and remove judgement of what is “cool” or not.
The Paris Olympics also became a reminder to dream big. That question of “What if…” is a powerful one (see page 111, chapter “What if…?”). Who says that a track needs to be red? What if we went with lilac? Overriding old ways isn’t always big an audacious, often it starts in the smallest ways, or even unexpected ways. Each time we see a new example of an empowering override at work, we can file it away as another piece of our ever growing trust muscles.
Not every step you take is going to be instantly adored by others either. Just take Phryge, the official Paris mascot as an example. Inspired by the Phrygian hats from the French Revolution to signify freedom and liberty, the mascot was ridiculed and mocked when it was first introduced a year ago. Sometimes something new just needs time to settle. At the start of the Olympics I didn’t even know how to pronounce Phryge (it’s “freej” FYI), to quickly falling in love with him and squealing when I’d spot him at a venue, and admittedly became speechless when I got to give him a hug and take a picture with him. By the end of the two weeks I saw grown men proudly wearing Phryge backpacks and t-shirts with no children in sight. It was all a beautiful reminder that there are moments when change can feel slow, and other times it happens fast. While others were making fun of him, Phryge stayed his course and stayed true to what he was here to do. (See page 138, chapter “Alternative narratives.”)
Keep in mind your entire life has been preparing you for what’s ahead. Trust in your experience as you step into whatever is ahead. OVERRIDE! is your reminder to ENJOY the journey and have some fun along the way. Even the hard can be fun, at a minimum they can make the glory feel so much more golden.
As with every athlete there will be ups and downs, twists and turns, and curveballs of life (see page 59, chapter “ Life is not linear”). But you’re not going to land a Yurchenko-style vault with two flips in a pike position (aka the Biles II) if you don’t put yourself in the arena and get started. Just don’t assume you have to know what your arena has to look like to take the first step. If you want a lilac track, go for it!
And yes, if you were curious, my book did attend 14 different events with me! Authors can have just as much fun as the athletes.
What are your favorite narratives that you saw embrace the spirit of OVERRIDE! during the Olympic games? What surprised you? Uprooted your beliefs? Delighted you? Reminded you there are other ways? (I fully acknowledge that I have a very US-centric view, with a side of France, so I’d love to learn about examples from other perspectives too. See page 40, chapter “On bias and inherent privilege.)
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