The Thin Line Between Achivement and Obsession

This essay builds on the video “I Was Broken”, about Katelyn Ohashi, found at theplayerstribune.com

A few years ago Linda and I flirted with joining an elite program for cyclists. The invitation was seductive. People already competing for state championships in age-group competition were telling us—especially Linda—we could really help their team, and maybe even occupy the top podium spots ourselves. It made us feel good about ourselves. And it seemed like an incredibly healthy lifestyle.

Thank God we saw through it in time.

Soon after we stuck our little toes in those tempting waters we began asking ourselves why: why spend all that time, money and physical and emotional energy on riding bikes faster? The training program would have precluded doing anything with our lives outside of our jobs. And cycling is expensive with a Capital E. Some of those folks spend more on bikes than we do on our house—including the mortgage. I can prove this.

And we got introduced to “supplements”. Not drugs, mind you. Oh no. That would be illegal and unethical. No, supplements are GOOD for you. Sure they are: when taken in medically tested amounts. But by their very nature supplements tend to occupy a shadowy area hidden from verifiable medical, scientific scrutiny. Put another way, people we liked and respected were putting things into their bodies that had unknown consequences.

I came to understand that the stereotypical bad temper of elite cyclists stems partly from supplements—and whatever other murky things they ingest.

But the true kicker came when I started asking the why question of others. Their responses ranged from blank stares (the best possible answer, I came to realize) to angry, prepared rebuttals that only proved I had not been the first to ask.

Contrast all this with the happy, healthy Katelyn Ohashi in the video referenced above. She learned the hard way what obsession with victory can do to a person. And one important difference: whereas Linda and I had each other and decades of life to draw on as we reconsidered our choices, she had only the fierce elite gymnastics community and her maybe ten years on the planet to “help”.

To all parents of prodigies and would-be prodigies: PLEASE think about your children's whole lives, their spirits, their emotional health, their desires (not yours), their future beyond hockey or dance or robotics or whatever. Find the right balance between achievement and depletion, fun and grim determination, life and not-life.