The outcomes are in, and Suni Lee is heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics as considered one of 5 ladies, together with the most-decorated gymnast Simone Biles, to qualify for the U.S. ladies’s gymnastics group.
Lee, a Minnesota-raised 21-year-old, turned a family title in the course of the Tokyo Olympics when she took residence the gold medal within the particular person all-around and helped propel her group to silver.
Nevertheless, the highway to Paris has not been clean crusing for Lee, who advised TODAY this week that “it feels completely insane” to be marching towards her second Olympics representing Workforce USA. With latest well being obstacles and the strain to carry out, Lee is aware of all too nicely that reaching success is way more than bodily coaching alone. Lee swears by a every day psychological ritual to calm her nerves and get in confidence mode, which incorporates journaling 4 to 5 pages earlier than each competitors.
Elsa Through Getty
“I’m feeling a lot within the second,” Lee tells Fortune about her competition-day nerves. Lee, who has partnered with pharmaceutical big Eli Lilly and Firm, a well being fairness sponsor of Workforce USA, says “I like to write down down my key phrases, making an attempt to recollect my why, issues that I would like to recollect once I’m on the market competing and easy issues like simply telling myself affirmations and to breathe as a result of that’s one thing that I wrestle with once I’m competing.”
Final 12 months, Lee was recognized with an incurable kidney illness that compelled her to take a coaching hiatus. Nevertheless, she saved her sights on the Olympics and labored together with her medical group to make a comeback, which she recollects in an Instagram submit as “so greater than my return to elite gymnastics. It was me proving to myself that I can overcome arduous issues, and to hopefully encourage others to by no means let life’s setbacks cease you from going after your goals.”
Since then, reminding herself to breathe and loosen up has develop into extra integral to her coaching routine. Mindfulness additionally helps strengthen the mind and tune the thoughts for efficiency, touted by billionaire Brad Jacobs and Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan for optimizing efficiency and preventing burnout.
“You’re instructing your self to be nonjudgmentally conscious of the current second,” Elizabeth Seng, an affiliate professor of psychology on the Ferkauf Graduate College of Psychology at Yeshiva College, beforehand advised Fortune. Journaling self-affirmations additionally triggers the mind’s reward system, which may “be a robust car for turning down the mind’s stress alarm system,” Dr. David Creswell, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Carnegie Mellon College and researcher in self-affirmations, beforehand advised Fortune.
A ten-word rallying cry
Lee repeats a saying and journals a 10-word phrase earlier than competing: “Nothing extra, nothing much less as a result of your regular is sweet sufficient.”
It’s a phrase that she has leaned on throughout essentially the most intensive coaching intervals and competitions. “It’s tremendous vital to me as a result of I do know once I was youthful, the neighborhood round gymnastics wasn’t as constructive as it’s now,” she says, including that it’s important to settle for coping with extra failures than successes.
Elsa through Getty
Carving out time for psychological preparation has helped enhance Lee’s confidence, which she recollects being challenged amid varied well being struggles whereas competing through the years.
“I used to be all the time myself like ‘Oh, my gosh. You’ll be able to see my eczema, or do I look actually robust proper now?’” she says. She hopes to destigmatize well being situations by talking out about them, and function a task mannequin to for youthful athletes to search out their confidence.
“Confidence has been crucial factor and simply trusting my physique, trusting myself each time it involves gymnastics,” she says.
Lee additionally loves taking self-care days, which embrace napping, taking a shower, going buying, having her favourite meal, and ending the night time with a chilled Netflix present.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off on the finish of the month.
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