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Mental health and wellbeing gets a gold medal at the Olympics

What we’re reading this week...

During the Tokyo Olympics, some athletes have stepped down to protect their mental health and wellbeing.

Tianna Bartoletta (Tianna Bee), holder of three gold medals, offers her perspective on Simone Biles’ decision to step away from the Olympics. What stood out to us were Tianna’s questions about whose expectations Simone was expected to satisfy.

Have you made a decision for yourself that others have disagreed with or criticized? Do you pursue what you want, or what others expect from you?
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What it reminded us of…

Simone’s decision required the self-awareness to recognize how she was feeling. She also had the courage and confidence to act on it. At I Am Here, the R in CLEAR stands for Real, which is all about being true to yourself.

The situation reminded us of this article by Michael Gervais for the Harvard Business Review. It’s entitled “How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You.” The title is self-explanatory. After reading Tianna’s piece, we felt compelled to revisit this article.

It’s reassuring to see a cultural change where people who are on a global stage are able to be honest about their needs. Even under a spotlight, these world-class athletes feel enabled to do what’s best for their mental health and wellbeing. We welcome this at I Am Here.

What we’re practicing this week…

When making a decision like this, it can be easy to be hard on ourselves or to feel like we’ve failed or let people down. Compassion is another of our CLEAR skills, and it’s important to apply it to ourselves as well as others.

Serena Chen wrote about the power of self-compassion for the Harvard Business Review. She identifies three common traits in people who show high levels of self-compassion. They are kind towards their own mistakes, they recognize failures as a shared human experience, and they take a balanced approach towards negative emotions.

Do those traits describe you? Get in touch through our social media channels and let’s talk about allowing ourselves to make decisions in our best interests.
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