How to consider fearlessness as an underutilized mechanism for greatness.
Was Shaunae Miller’s reach for the gold in the 400M final a heroic save or unintentional dive into infamy?
Whether driven by ambition or instinct, the fact remains that Ms. Miller, a young athlete from the Bahamas, seized the gold medal from seasoned U.S. Olympic medalist Allyson Felix’s grasp with a slim 0.07 second victory. Instead of breaking her fall, she reached forward across the finish line to make history – and got some serious, full body road rash in the process.
No one can argue that Miller is fearless. Whether a tumble or a dive, her desire to win was so powerful it overrode both judgment and self-preservation in a matter of seconds. What empowers some individuals to assume risk when an outcome’s uncertain? The short answer: for those with the will to win, sometimes the fear of risk gets pushed to the sideline.
In discussing risk to a group of students, Mark Zuckerberg once said, “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” While it’s true that risk, calculated or instinctive, is necessary to survive, it too can inflict great harm. The tipping point that converts those risk-averse into risk-takers comes with the belief that the only option is forward: a go-for-broke, growth mindset.
Despite how hard she trained and how fast she ran; it truly comes down to Miller’s spur of the moment decision to throw herself to the ground for a chance at victory. She indeed grabbed the gold. Yet perhaps her greatest accomplishment was instinctively pushing past fear, self-doubt, and fear of injury to propel herself across the finish line and into history.
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