Inspiring Reflections from AANHPI Olympians in Paris 2024
Watching With Awe
It’s been thrilling to see top athletes compete in the Paris Olympics this year. I just wish the Peacock app didn’t crash so much on my TV! I’m not quite sure why it’s so riveting for me this year. During past Olympic games, I’d watch the Opening Ceremony and maybe just catch a few of the really popular events. This year, I’m watching a lot more and I’m interested in a wider variety of events I never thought I’d want to watch (such as fencing).
As I get older, I’m more interested in people who are at (or near) the peak of their craft. I’m 44 years old and more than ever, I’m interested in mastery. The personal journeys people go through to hone their craft are really engrossing for me. Even though I’m laughably far from being a top athlete, I see a bit of myself in these stories. I think we all love a backstory about overcoming adversity and believing in oneself. When we want something, we can’t control whether we get it or not, but we can control the time, effort, energy, and care we put into it to head towards the best possible outcome. I feel that way about this private practice—that I am continuously becoming a better therapist and business owner. In my own ways, I strive towards mastery and peak performance.
AANHPI Athletes Give a Glimpse Into Their Mental Health
I’m especially inspired by young AANHPI women whom I’ve been following in this year’s Olympics. In previous Olympics, I’ve really enjoyed following and reading about Chloe Kim and Carissa Moore, who have candidly discussed their mental health challenges and experiences with identity. If every iteration of the Olympics gives us gems like these AANHPI women, I can’t wait to see who makes it to the Los Angeles 2028 games!
Let’s take a closer look at 2 of the Olympians I’ve been following this year.
Suni Lee is the first Hmong American to compete in the Olympics! That alone is so historic and beautiful. But I was also incredibly moved by this video about having anxiety and what she does to stay grounded. She discusses using journaling, visualization, and positive affirmations. Here is one of the affirmations she shares:
Nothing more, nothing less. My average is good enough.
Is this a good one for your affirmations practice, if you have one?
Breaker Sunny Choi’s journey to the Olympics started in childhood as a competitive gymnast but she stopped pursuing it because of an injury. That platitude of “when one door closes, another opens” definitely applies here because she brought her dedication and discipline to another passion. As a student at University of Pennsylvania (my alma mater!), she started breaking for fun, long before it became an Olympic sport. Reflecting on how she ended up on the US breaking team in Paris this year, she said,
Breaking was kind of showing me that I had kind of kept under wraps for a very long time, which is like just my self-expression, because I’d always just done what I had been told to do and never really kind of looked outside that box or tried anything creative.
She’s giving us a flower in full bloom, a not-shying-away-from-one’s-power. She’s giving discovering the artist within. She’s giving Asian American woman who embraces her authentic self in this chaotic world of expectations, pressures, and overwhelming choices. A girl after my own heart.
Enjoy the Olympics! That wasn’t me crying during Celine Dion’s “L'Hymne à l'amour” on he Eiffel Tower or I just had something in my eye.