Work Around Mistakes and Belief in Yourself: Observing Mirai Nagasu

As far as careers go, Mirai Nagasu has reasons to give up, just quit. She was the US National champion in 2008 at the age of 16, 4th place at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games, then was dramatically left off of the next US Olympic team in 2014 despite a third place finish at the US National Championships.

Many athletes would have quit at that point. She could have taken it as a vote of no confidence when Ashley Wagner, 4th place at US Nationals that year was named to the Olympic team.

At that time Mirai was also without a primary coach, and struggling with a few technique problems. One would argue that the easy path would be to cut her losses and call it a career. 

The True Character

It is said that adversity reveals the true nature of a person’s character. Instead of denouncing the selection committee on social media, Mirai was class itself.

“I’m disappointed in the decision,” she said. “Though I may not agree with it, I have to respect the decision the federation made. And I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me and look forward to what comes next in my skating career.”

In addition to accepting the decision of the USFS with grace, Mirai skated at the Gala. In tears, she stole the show. We do not frequently have the opportunity to witness such a true example of courage, character and grace.

Show, don’t tell.

Over the past four years, Mirai addressed her technical shortcomings with practice and preparation. She addressed her jump underrotations by adding a triple axel to her arsenal. 

She continued to strengthen her mental game refusing to do anything but believe in herself despite earlier results. She mentioned that the biggest difference between last year and this year was her mental game. This year instead of expecting perfection, she was ready to work around any mistakes.

This year Mirai Nagasu was the US National Silver Medalist. She is also a proud member of the 2018 US Olympic Team. We can all learn a lot about the champion mindset from her example.

ICEPod Episode 20-a little more about these strategies.

 

To build a strong mental game you need to learn the techniques and practice them over time. You need to do this consistently, every day, on and off the ice. Over time this mindset will become natural. Then it will be there for you when you need it.

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