GROWING BOLDER WITH
Apolo Anton Ohno
40
Photo by Frazer Harrison / Staff via Getty Images
How well do you deal with change? Most of us prefer routine. We get comfortable in our lives until something happens to disrupt our daily pattern. A change in a career, the end of a relationship, money problems, illness, and retirement — can all be causes of stress, anxiety and disorientation. We need to learn to defy change, to use change as an opportunity to reinvent, explore and create new adventures. This is true whether you are an ordinary person, or the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian of all time, like Apolo Anton Ohno. For Ohno, who turns 40 this month, the most intimidating event of his life did not happen on the ice, but instead when he hung up his skates for good. “After my final Olympics, I felt confused, vulnerable, and adrift without purpose,” he said. “That’s when I realized my experiences had given me something much more valuable than medals and memories. I had tools I could use to shift my life in a new direction, tools anyone could benefit from.” It was not easy for Ohno, but defying expectations is what he is all about. He was determined to focus his gold medal mindset not just on finding his pathway into the future, but in helping others find theirs, even in their darkest moments. “We all face loss and have to deal with that,” said Ohno. “There are periods of mourning, acceptance, surrendering to the outcome and then we can begin transforming and transitioning beyond those periods.” It may sound easy, but Ohno knows it is not. Coming from an environment where perfection was essential to his success made it even more difficult for him to walk down unfamiliar roads searching for a new source of fulfillment. “You have to be willing to go explore,” he said. “You have to be willing to go try something new, and you have to be willing to understand that when you do, you're probably
not going to be very good at them in the beginning. But you must realize that's okay. It's a necessary part of the process.” If it sounds as if he has done his research, he has. His interest in the subject resulted in his latest book, Hard Pivot: Embrace Change. Find Purpose. Show Up Fully. In it, he explores his personal journey, in which he realized that when we experience a life-changing event, the most difficult yet important part is being willing and able to let go of what was stable and familiar. “I've gone through such a transformation just to break free from the cycle of obsessiveness that I had as an athlete,” he said. “I’ve been able to channel that in a more holistic and positive way. I feel amazing.” He believes that only once we embrace our transformations can we grow and change for the better. After all, it worked for him. “I look back on the life that I've lived so far, and it's been filled with incredible moments, but it has also been filled with incredible hardships and failures,” he said. “I believe both are important and that it is the combination of the two that results in a life well lived. Hopefully, I can live the next decade with as much intensity, passion and drive as I have over the last 20 years. I know that by helping others navigate their changes will help me achieve it.” G R O W I N G B O L D E R / M AY 2 0 2 2 D I G E S T
9
