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Obstacles, Egos & Motivation: Lessons From The Italian Alps

By Will Turner

It was supposed to be a crowning Olympic moment. But within sight of cheering fans, overjoyed supporters and the world’s cameras, the fate of one of America’s brightest stars took a nosedive into Italian snow. 

If you followed the 2006 Winter Olympics, you’re probably familiar with one of the pre-event media darlings, Lindsey Jacobellis. The twenty-year old snowboardcross phenom was the hands-down favorite to take gold. As the reigning queen of the sport which was making its Olympic debut, she garnered lots of pre-Olympic media coverage, complete with Visa commercials and more than her fair share of photo shoots. 

Jacobellis had a commanding lead over her rivals in the women’s snowboardcross competition and was within striking distance of realizing Olympic glory. Then everything went horribly wrong.

She grabbed her board on the second-to-last jump before the finish line. This move is called a “backside method grab” and is a trick that includes a flashy 60-degree twist. It’s rarely done in snowboardcross competition. In fact, most consider the move a blatant display of hot-dogging.

In other words, feeling invincible, Jacobellis decided to showboat for the grandstand crowd. After her face plant in the snow, she scrambled to her feet to finish the race. But it was too late. Switzerland’s Tanja Frieden caught up and crossed the finish line first.

So, what can we learn from a dethroned snow princess? Let’s start with obstacles. In the case of Jacobellis, she had the competition won. But she got in her own way. In other words, she was her own obstacle and her ultimate nemesis…not her competition, the jumps or the mountain.

It’s our internal obstacles that are often our biggest challenges. Part of the reason for this is our egos. It could be because we think we’re right or we think we’re the best. Or often, we just can’t see our own faults objectively.

In Jacobellis’s case, she was no doubt feeling a little cocky. She knew that she was the best in her sport. Why not do a little move that would stir up the crowd? By thinking of the applause and adulation to come, her Olympic moment was replaced by an Olympic flop.

Our egos are tied into our own motivation (Check out the “What Really Motivates You” article in our archives). In that fateful moment when Jacobellis made her “backside method grab” she was undoubtedly driven by her recognition-motivation. In fact, her ego craved it.

Like other recognition-driven people, Jacobellis sought recognition from others. She wanted attention, but her undoing was that she wanted more than what she would get from just blowing the doors off her competition and winning gold. She wanted to add some flair. She wanted to put an exclamation point on her achievement with a bold move. A move that said, “Look at me. I’m so good I can win this and do it with extra style and pizzazz. My competition is not even in my league. So watch this!”

If she could take back that moment, I’m sure she would. The good news is that Jacobellis is young and talented. She can redeem herself.

She has been presented with a grand failure of her own making. What she does with it will define her greatness as a person much more than a gold medal ever could. There are so many life lessons to learn from her experience about obstacles, egos and motivation. Not just for Jacobellis, but for all of us.

© Dancing Elephants Achievement Group 2006