Reflections on Usain Bolt’s “Smiling face” Meme
Usain Bolt’s track performance has been awe inspiring. He seems to finish his races without effort while competitors are pushing their bodies to the limits to complete the race. After the 100m event, this beautiful meme caught my attention.
In the picture above, you have Bolt looking behind and smiling while his competitors are grimacing to catch up. Someone in the ether of the internet labeled his competitors, deadlines, sleep, and responsibilities which represent many of the challenges that face individuals living and working in the modern corporation.
It is no doubt that Mr. Bolt is at the peak of his career, and he has taken steps to sustain it. As I look beyond his nine gold medals, the famous “lightning bolt” pose and his pre-race hijinks, I reflect on two themes embodied in that meme.
- Be Prepared
- Live in the moment
Be Prepared: My scout master, Rev. Knight (RIP) always stressed the importance of being prepared. The scout motto “Be Prepared” has a deep meaning for myself and the people around the world influenced by the scouting movement.
Being prepared in mind is simply having the discipline to have thought out contingencies so that you know to act at the moment and you are willing to execute on a course of direction.
Being physically prepared is just as important but tends to be more difficult. It “requires that you to make yourself strong and active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.” These principles are classic Baden-Powell which is timeless. As I write this, I need to take mental note of reducing my cookie intake.
I have found the numerous YouTube videos of Bolt’s training regime very emblematic of what can be done to prepare both mind and body. I will take another mental note regarding cookie intake.
Live in the moment — We tend to spend more time at work than home during the week. In our ever-connected digital world, the boundaries between work and home life continue to break down and evolve. We move from meeting to meeting, project to project without taking pause to appreciate the present. As I saw Bolt’s meme, it was clear that he was in the present and enjoying every bit of it. I am sure that he is expending a fair amount of energy to maintain his lead but looks at his competitors with glee.
In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, Victor Frankl stresses that everything can be taken away from you, but one of the last freedoms that you have is “to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Even on days in which, the path forward is uncertain, and you are in your most stressed placed you can opt to live in the moment.
Run on Mr. Bolt. Forever Faster
