Text/Chang Jing
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The Olympics are on! Although the attention of the Olympics is not as high as it used to be, a significant number of people still stay up late to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. I watched the video highlights on the Internet the next day, and I felt quite distinctive. There was a lot of controversy about the opening ceremony on the Seine in the rain, some said it was trivial and messy, all kinds of overturns, and some said that it reflected France's confidence, romance and tolerance.
Whether it's complaining or criticizing, praising or praising it, there is a characteristic that everyone seems to agree on, that is, it is relaxed enough. The creativity of many shows not only contains cultural heritage, but also uses funny and humorous forms to express, even if some mistakes are made, it is not a big deal, it just makes everyone happy.
This sense of relaxation is not only reflected in the program of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, but also spreads to the athletes.
Isn't the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger", and how can you relax in such a world competition?
Don't worry, the relaxation mentioned here is not the relaxation in the process of the game, but a mentality in the face of the game. The bigger the game, the more likely it is to have this kind of relaxed mentality. Just imagine, if the athlete is highly nervous, and even the muscles are tense, then there will be mistakes in the game, which will affect the normal performance and even hurt the body.
The higher the level of competition, the more comprehensive the quality and ability, including technique and psychology. No matter how high the technical level is, but the psychological quality is not good, you will lose the game as usual.
The most impressive thing is the "Emmons phenomenon".
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Chinese shooter Jia Zhanbo "picked up" a valuable gold medal with his opponent Matthew · Emmons missing the target in the last ring. Four years later, Matthew · Emmons almost repeated the bizarre scene of Athens at the Beijing Olympics.
At that time, the shooting competition was also carried out to the last shot, and Emmons at the No. 2 target position also fired the last shot. He only needed to score no less than 7.1 rings to win the championship, but after the last shot, the bullet flew to the No. 3 target. Once again, Emmons "gifted" the gold medal to other athletes.
If we had to find a reason for Emmons' "off-target", it must be clear to everyone that it must have something to do with his psychological disorder.
As one of the world's top shooters, he missed the target at the last shot in two Olympic Games, which is definitely not explained by the word level, and it is definitely not an accident. It is clear that Emmons' psychological qualities need to be improved. Either he was overthinking or overly nervous.
So, how do you get the right amount of relaxation while maintaining good competitive condition?
I think there are two main things.
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The first thing is to not be obsessed with winning or losing.
When I come to participate in the competition, of course, I have a heart to win, but I think this win is not only to win the championship and runner-up and win the medal, but to actively participate and try my best.
Director Jia Ling said in an interview at the opening ceremony: "I hope that all the Olympic athletes this year will compete in the best condition, no matter whether they can win medals or not, as long as they participate, it will be OK." She also said in the Olympic promotional video: "The one who does not admit defeat is the champion!" ”
This is not just a slogan, but a spirit and the expectation and mentality of us athletes as an ordinary countryman.
The same is true for the athletes themselves, especially the younger ones. Maybe the times are different, their generation of young people have a more fun and entertaining mentality, as can be seen from their screen names, shooting athletes Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao, who won China's first Olympic gold medal, are called Atiao Motojo and just rely on dry rice respectively, so the news has a funny effect.
Sheng Lihao, who won the gold, was very simple-minded, and even complained that the coach was anxious in an interview.
This simplicity and ease is in stark contrast to the previous generation of athletes. In the past, athletes carried too many things, and the public opinion environment at that time was not relaxed, and the achievements of athletes were often tied to some sacred words such as "honor of the motherland" and "national pride", which invisibly put a lot of pressure on them.
In fact, the true spirit of sportsmanship is whether you win or lose, and "mutual understanding, long-term friendship, solidarity and fair competition" is the Olympic spirit advocated.
Let go of the burden of winning and losing, and enjoy the momentum of sports with "addiction", there will not be so much consumption in your heart, but it is easy to produce results.
And, with the progress of the times, the mentality of the media and the audience is more mature than in the past, and they will not casually scold athletes who do not perform well. And even if the athletes lose, they don't show despair. Fencer Sun Yiwen was eliminated in the individual competition and missed the top 16, she posted on Weibo like this:
Victory is not arrogant and defeat is also a sense of relaxation, which is worthy of praise for Sun Yiwen!
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Having a flat mentality and not dwelling on winning or losing does not mean that there is no pressure in the game. As long as it is in a competitive arena, anyone can feel the tense atmosphere in the air.
Just telling yourself to relax doesn't help, it's important to find a way to decompress that works for you.
Everyone has different ages, genders, and personalities, and the ways they find to reduce stress are also different. Look no further than United Kingdom's diving star Daley, whose skillful knitting skills have been showcased at the Olympics.
At the last Tokyo Olympics, he just sat in the stands and kept his hands, and the action of knitting sweaters attracted a lot of people, and when the Olympics were over, he won a gold medal and a beautiful sweater was knitted.
Daly told reporters that he knitted the sweater to raise money for a brain tumor charity, and on the other hand, it could also help him relieve the tension of the competition. At the Paris Olympics, he continued to knit his sweater.
Why does knitting sweaters relieve tension? If we think about it, in the face of a competition, there are likely to be a lot of chaotic thoughts in the heart, and at this time, people need a sense of order and regularity, and repeating some simple actions can help build a sense of order in the heart. The manual work of knitting a sweater is to weave a ball of wool into a piece of clothing, and this action itself also symbolizes sorting out the inner mess, and through the process of weaving, the task is achieved in an orderly manner.
In psychotherapy, we also recommend some anxiety patients to practice calligraphy, embroidery, cross-stitch, etc., to do these things to calm their hearts.
Let's take a look at these two images again.
Shooter Huang Yuting shows off her bed of dolls, and diver Quan Hongchan's bag is full of dolls and small animals.
Aside from their athlete status, they are actually little girls in their youth, who like puppets and dolls, which is too normal. The life of an athlete is quite boring and monotonous every day, and buying these plush toys to decorate their rooms and bags is just a pleasure.
Besides, these dolls and animals are so cute, look at them and touch them, and your heart will be a little more relaxed and happy.
Do you remember Mr. Bean, what he brings with him every day is a small stuffed teddy bear, teddy is irreplaceable, and the bear brings family-like warmth to this shy and "strange" middle-aged man.
There are many ways to reduce stress, whether it is knitting sweaters or playing with rag dolls, the purpose is to relax yourself, relax your mind, relax your muscles, and adjust your body to the best state.
The Olympics are like this, the competition is like this, think about us ordinary people, when we face the challenges and tasks in life and learning, we also need such a sense of relaxation.
Once again, the feeling of relaxation is not to let go or lie flat, but not to let yourself be tight. When we are young, the sense of relaxation and security may be given by our parents by the family, and when we become adults, we have to learn to cultivate our own sense of relaxation.
Watching the Olympics is not only about experiencing the intensity of the competition and appreciating the superb skills of the athletes, but also about learning from their sense of relaxation......