Simone Biles, Sports, and the Future of Competition
Issue 52
So everything is changing and, oh yeah, that’s why we’re here. We know an old consciousness is dying, bye-bye, and a new one is being born. Hello, Gorgeous. So today, conscious politics practitioner, we veer slightly off-trail to peek at the world of competitive sports, where the new consciousness seems to have been asserting itself for some time and, with the magnifying glass that is the Olympics, is now doing so on the world stage. Shall we?
I’ve likely enjoyed thousands of hours of in-person and armchair sports-watching competition in my life. You too? I also competed myself in school and at camp, as part of teams and as an individual, in several sports and activities. Oh the trophies! And medals! And patches! I don’t watch nearly as much as I used to and I don’t ever compete anymore, but I still get pissed when “my” team loses not to mention if I blow it at Scrabble or some such thing. But this isn’t about me; it’s about me suggesting that we can see evidence of the new consciousness asserting itself in elite amateur and professional sports.
Gymnastics champion Simone Biles was talking last week about her decision to withdrew from competition and her body was not the problem. “I’d say put mental health first because if you don’t you’re not going to enjoy your sport, so it’s ok…to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and a person you really are, rather than just power through it.” (Apologies, I lost the link, but it was from the team press conference after they won silver last week.)
In an interview with Inc., Steph Curry (of Golden State Warriors basketball fame) said, Opposing teams "look small compared to the expectations I have for myself."
Michael Phelps (swimming), a spokesman now for Talkspace (a mental health app), said in a recent interview, “Mental health is bigger than its ever been.” “We have to make a change. We have to make a difference.”
Naomi Osaka (tennis) was fined $15,000 for skipping a press event and created quite a stir when she basically said, she needed a mental health day. She is advocating for changes in how press events in professional tennis have always been done.
Do you hear it? An entrenched belief system upon which so much of elite amateur and professional sports and performance has been built, is crumbling. It used to pretty much add up to: win at all costs. But these athletes no longer believe that. They no longer believe that “powering through” is necessarily the best course of action. They no longer believe that beating their competition is as important as beating themselves. They no longer believe they are (solely) responsible for entertaining fans at their own expenses. Beliefs matter.
So what is next? Where do sports and competition go if, indeed, they’re changing? Say hello to the concept of coopetition.
Their intentions are changing as well. They are about expanding what winning means. They are about enjoying their sports. They have to do with bettering themselves. We know all about the importance of beliefs and intentions, don’t we? And they are listening to inspiration. Big time! They are listening to their, say it with me, feelings — and prioritizing what feels right. Imagine that. They’re also addressing identity, like us.
Biles: “…has made me realize I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before."
Phelps: “I didn’t know what my identity was. I saw myself strictly as a swimmer. That was it. Not a human being.”
So what is next? Where do sports and competition go if, indeed, they’re changing? Say hello to the concept of coopetition. Coopetition is simply defined as the simultaneous pursuits of cooperation and competition and can be applied to anything. It already exists in the sports world. In cycling and running, for example, “elite athletes coordinate their movements so that each can do far better than if racing alone.” More broadly, “it is a growing force in the innovation landscape.”
Coopetition is a real thing in the business world, for sure, especially in the last 20-25 years or so. One of many examples: “in the arrangement between PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota to share components for a new city car—simultaneously sold as the Peugeot 107, the Toyota Aygo, and the Citroen C1, where companies save money on shared costs while remaining fiercely competitive in other areas.” I get super-excited about this because it’s a demonstration of aligning with the nature of Nature, which thrives on interdependence and cooperation, even though we’ve been taught otherwise. We belong to the planet, not the planet to us. So new-consciousness.
This coach writes about changes in how we view competition:
“Are you at one with your activity? Are you calm and peaceful and dedicated to doing what you can that day? If you are, you are winning. I really see a shift coming in sports in the near future. The day is coming when we will start emphasizing total points instead of who won the match. We will emphasize a tie more than the win or loss. The focus should not be on the duality, but the coopetition. The moment…
“If I would have been able to adopt this attitude as a college player, I would have enjoyed myself so much more. I would have played better, instead of playing tight like I was in a win/lose situation…”
Who knows what the worlds of elite amateur and professional sports will ultimately transform into? Coopetition shows at least one path and, as a concept, it’s incredibly flexible in and of itself. But I thought it was of some use and value to keep in mind today that whatever it is we are doing with conscious politics is what humans are doing with everything, everywhere.
And for the record, coopetition can even be brought to politics. In 2014, an organization “used ‘coopetition’ to describe how to create ‘compassion primaries,’ where candidates for party office try to find allies in the other parties to cooperate around advancing freedom, compassion and human rights as governing principles.”
Can you stand it?!
NOTE: If you’ve been here since the start, you’ve read these pages for a whole year. Fifty-two issues. Happy anniversary! I am humbled by and grateful for your presence here, regardless of when you arrived. I hope you’ll stick around for more.
I so enjoyed this! My Network Care practioner always asks: what are you bringing to the field? Fitting here ;) it's not what you do, it's how you do what you do. And I too was always a much better tennis player when I was having fun. What a concept. Could the new P be about pleasure and fun?
Great peace and insight.