Choices, Perspective (and the no-fun books.)

Less than 150 days to go!

The Tokyo Playbooks are out and we’ve shared that operational information with you. It’s not the final word, as they will be updated in late March and April, but I like to see them as a very positive step. They are not about “if’ the Games will happen, they are all about the Games HAPPENING.

I’m going to guess that sport – how much time you’ve given to it versus to your friends, family, school, career, etc… as well as where you’ve had to physically be, or move to, so that you could become world class –has for decades, required countless choices. While other people might see an athletes’ choices as sacrifices, as if they have lost opportunities, we know better. The choices you’ve made have brought you to a remarkable life and lifestyle and you are surrounded by extraordinary people who believe that excellence is a legitimate goal. It is a life we are blessed to live.

Sacrifice (Dictionary.com): noun: a loss incurred in selling something below its value.
verb: to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.

Choice (Dictionary.com): noun: the right, power, or opportunity to choose and/or an abundance of variety from which to choose.

Back to the Tokyo Playbooks. They might also seem a bit like the Tokyo no-play-no-fun-books. Arrive late, leave early. No cheering. No going to watch other sports.  No going to restaurants, bars or clubs outside of the Olympic Village. Attendance at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will likely be…. complicated. Many of these typical at-Games moments, (I’ve framed them before as the Olympic Games which are separate from your Olympic Competition,) are not going to be part of your story. Harder still – we need you to choose to be okay with that. These will not be typical Olympics.

You may feel you need to mourn the loss of those moments. That will be natural; there is grief that has been woven throughout this whole year – nothing has been easy or ‘normal’. In those moments of grief, when you focus on what is not happening, I’d like to ask you to also embrace what is happening – see what you can do.

In the same way that for decades you made choices that have led you towards world class performance – choose to dive into and focus on WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  Take care to not to trip too deeply and frame what is not available as equal to a sacrifice. You have way more power on this journey than that. There is way more opportunity available to you…  continue to choose what can be. 

I will mourn the loss of shouting out my cheer, but share it with you virtually!!

C-A <clap, clap> N-A <clap, clap> D-A <clap, clap> Let’s Go Canada!!!

C-A 👏👏 N-A 👏👏 D-A 👏👏 Let’s Go Canada!! 

Marnie

Marnie McBean OC OLY
Chef de Mission Team Canada Tokyo 2020 @MarnieMcB 

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