By Bernard Golden, Ph.D. — 2020
Aspiring to be perfect is very different than believing we need to be perfect.
Read on www.psychologytoday.com
CLEAR ALL
Osaka’s mental health challenges are nothing new in her isolating sport. What is new is the acceptance she’ll face—and the paths back—if she takes a prolonged break.
In the past few weeks, my journey took an unexpected path but one that has taught me so much and helped me grow. I learned a couple of key lessons.
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Through the size of her platform, however, and her decision to choose well-being over pursuit of a Grand Slam title, Osaka offers the promise of bringing mental health awareness—both inside and outside of sports—to an entirely new level.
She looked for all the world like a woman who could not be cowed. And then just when her many detractors thought she was out for good, she pulled herself back in.
By withdrawing from competition citing concerns over her mental health, Biles showed that resisting expectations can be more powerful than persisting through them.