This is Dan Jansen, one of America’s best ever speed skaters. For a variety of reasons, Jansen failed to get on to the podium at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics despite being the favourite to win the 500 and 1,000 metre races. The headlines in the newspapers were brutal: “Jansen Chokes Again” and “Greatest Choke in Sports History” they wrote. It was finally at his last Winter Olympics in 1994 that Jansen won an Olympic medal – but only after releasing himself of the pressure of winning the medal by asking himself the magical question, “So what?”

After missing out on a medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, Dan Jansen’s agent reached out to performance psychologist, Dr. Jim Loehr, for help. “He’s been struggling mentally,” Jansen’s agent told Loehr. “If we can get his head right, he’ll be an Olympic champion. If we can’t, he’ll go down as the greatest choker in sports history.”

“I know about Dan’s story,” Dr. Loehr replied. “I’d love to work with him.” So Jansen started working with Loehr leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. At the 1994 games, as he stepped to the starting line for the 500 metre race, Jansen writes, “I told myself, This is your day…It’s medal time.” He got off to a strong start, and by the final turn, he was skating at world record pace. “I’m thinking, ‘You’re going to set a world record,’” Jansen recalled. “’This is it—you’ve got the gold.’” As he powered through the last turn, Jansen slipped. For a fraction of a second, his left arm brushed the ice. He quickly recovered, but in a race that’s decided by a few tenths of a second, a split second can cost you a medal. And it did. Jansen missed winning a medal by one and a half tenths of a second.

It was yet another disappointment just 4 days before the 1,000 metre race—which Jansen knew would be the last time he ever skated competitively. “We created a mindset,” Dr. Loehr said. “And the mindset we created was—instead of a gold medal or a world record or anything else—think about what a gift the sport of speed skating has been to you. Think about the joy it’s brought you.”

Essentially, Jansen added, the mindset they created was to say “So what?” to the possibility of going down as the greatest choker in sports history. A reporter said in a press conference before the 1,000, “Dan, if you leave these Olympics without a medal, you’ll probably be remembered as the greatest Olympian ever to never win one.” “Yes sir,” Jansen replied, “thank you for pointing that out. But the way I choose to look at it is that I’ve had the opportunity to become one of the greatest Olympians ever. Few people get that opportunity. I’m grateful to be one of them.”

Deciding to think about it that way, deciding to say “So what?” to the thought of never winning a gold medal, Jansen not only won his first Olympic gold medal, but set a world record for the 1,000 metre race with a time of 1:12.43. “When I stopped thinking so much about a gold medal,” he said, “I won a gold medal.”

Interestingly, Dan Jansen’s experience mirrors the thoughts of the Bhagavad Gita where we are encouraged to focus on the action rather than the fruit of the action. Because it is this obsession with outcomes that take away from the magic of the process.

At Bravo too, our focus is on helping children develop & retain their love for football. When the focus is on improving skills, playing good football and building character, the result must follow sooner or later. And whenever our focus on the effort is challenged by the lure and temptation of outcomes, we encourage our students to ask themselves that perspective-shifting questions, “So what?” If you would like to help your child discover the power of “So what?”, call us on 9819337766 or 9819227766.

P.S. The amusing animated short film below is nice reminder for us to never judge appearances and be a little kinder. Please watch with the kids 🙂