Dr. Mandelbaum for Thrive Global: Is 'Winning at all Costs' Really Winning at All?
Posted on Jul 30, 2021 10:15am PDT
As an orthopedic surgeon, I have had the rare and distinct honor to serve
as a medical professional at countless sideline professional sporting
events, World Cup competitions, international Olympic and Special Olympic
Games. These fantastic experiences have provided me a unique perspective
on the mindset of athletes, what they endure, how they persevere and ultimately
overcome adversity. I’ve written extensively on my viewpoint of
athletes in my book The
Win Within – Capturing Your Victorious Spirit and hold fast to the notion that all humans were designed to be competitors,
if not in the life of sport, then most certainly the sport of life.
Today, midway through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, games that were postponed
by a worldwide pandemic that’s still raging, I can’t help
but continue to marvel at our American athletes. The United States of
America, according to the International Olympic Committee website, “is
the most successful nation in the history of the Olympic Games.”
These athletes’ grit, endurance, and honesty are what humanity always
needs, especially right now. Already, we’ve seen the American teams
shatter Olympic records in swimming, be decorated with nearly 40 medals
so far in a wide range of events, and persevere through what was arguably
the most grueling, uncertain, and perhaps frightening pandemic year training
for these games.
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