Alysa Liu opted out of pressuring herself in favor of feeling joy and having fun performing at the Olympics, and it totally worked for her. I find myself  referring to her example this week when trying to help out stressed people.

Choosing to feel stressed because you care about an outcome insures you will do less well. Set it down already. It’s like getting in your own way, and furthermore, you can’t control anyone else but yourself, so why try? You do have a choice not to feel stressed, but so few exercise it.  Let it go. Try focusing on gratitude instead.

Alysa Liu did the hard work of much practice and preparation, and then she simply trusted it, in order to enjoy the opportunity and appreciate the amazing experience.  We too can do the hard work of arduous preparation, but then release it to just show what we can do, with no thought about what lies beyond our own sphere of influence.

She said: “I just personally can’t bring myself to truly care about winning a medal or not…l mean when l’m enjoying performing it doesn’t matter what happens.” “I don’t need a medal. I just need to be here, and I just need to be present.”

Most other athletes were talking about goals, winning, and outcomes. They were carrying heavy weights of expectations and the judgements of others. And consequently, when we watched them, they were tight, less expressive, didn’t do as well, and you did not feel like they enjoyed the huge moment that they had focused on for so long.

Alysa Liu was captivating because she was relaxed and happy. More than her quirky hair, she made us smile by the remarkable freedom she gave herself. Can we give ourselves that much permission? What if we gave ourselves that much freedom and self-acceptance?

May we too do what we love for the sake of loving it. May we too refuse to be governed by impossible standards that we never set for ourselves. May we too experience the fruitfulness of trusting ourselves, and the incredible joy of excellence, without pressure, tension, intimidation, fear, or censure. May we realize that being thoroughly and authentically ourselves is always most efficacious.

If you missed Alysa Liu’s Olympic performances, you can see them here: Olympic short program and Olympic long program.