Reframing Success

Lessons from a Paralympian.

Recently I was blessed to have a conversation with a pretty special guy Born and raised in Hasting, Peter Cowan lives and breaths many of the principles I write about each week. Here’s the gist of our chat:

Having had a his right leg amputated at only 15 due to an accident, Peter took up Waka ama as not only an expression of movement, but as a way to connect to taiao, and his whenua. This went quite well I think, having recently represented New Zealand at the Paris Paralympic Games last year in the Men’s Va’a Canoe events.

It’s an amazing achievement to represent your country, and it’s so easy to bring up the most obvious thing: how he placed. But surprisingly, the most interesting thing about the conversation was actually what it took to get there.

What many people don’t realise is that for sports like Para canoe, although it takes as much commitment and hard work as every other sport, there is massive systemic pressure for these athletes to perform. Dame Lisa Carrington, New Zealand’s most successful Olympian, has contributed massively to raising awareness for the sport of canoeing. But as it currently stands her stardom is an exception to the rule. Performance-based pay for athletes can be a significant mental burden, having to balance financial security and sporting greatness. Peter spoke of the massive pressure he would put on himself to perform throughout his career, especially since having to provide for not only himself, but for his wife and tamariki as well. It is something he must carry in the back of his mind, every time he lines up to race. Despite this reality, Peter and his coach chose to take a different approach for their preparation for the upcoming Paralympics.

Sport is as much a mental battle as it is a physical one. When you focus only on the outcome, it starts to really weigh on you. What if I fail? What if I don’t achieve my goal? Placing at the Paralympics is an obvious goal for everyone competing, but it wasn’t necessarily the basis of Peter’s training. Rooted in his training was the mindset that when the time came, the only thing that mattered was his ability to execute each movement exactly as he needed to. The focus was no longer about his placing like it had done in the past, but on his ability to fulfil the actions and sequences just as he had trained. He was able to shake this burden despite it being one of the biggest races of his career, and he was able to take it all in and compete among the very best. He and his coach were able to redefine what success looks like.

Reward can take many forms. Whether it is money, fame, physique or medal, reward can drive us to do incredible things. The problems start when we put too much emphasis on the outcome. When we put pressure on ourselves to succeed, we lose sight of the levers which actually brought us to this point. The mental jeopardy of falling short, or giving up all together is only exacerbated when there aren’t tangible results along the way.

No person has the power to have everything they want, but it is in their power not to want what they don’t have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they do have - Seneca

In order to achieve anything meaningful it is important to remember that what you put in matters far more than what you get out. Any outcome is merely a consequence of your ability to challenge yourself consistently and aim upward. All that should be required of you is the ability to simply tick off more and more hours doing exactly what you know you should be doing. When it’s all said and done, and you finally get what you wanted, you might even be more proud of what it took to get you there.

I wouldn’t really know though.

But Peter does.

He left Paris with a Bronze.

Just Something To Consider.

Apologies that this is a bit of a late entry. I only finished it over the weekend and I wanted to get his blessing to make sure that this was an accurate reflection of his journey. This has by far been my favourite entry. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Make sure to drop Peter a follow to show your support. Also if you want to know a little more about him and his story, please watch this.