Mikaela Shiffrinʻs Perfect Response To Failure.
Mikaela Shiffrin has a long list of accolades. She gained notoriety by winning gold at the World Championships in slalom at just 16 years old.
Since then, she has been a force. Including her three Olympic gold medals (two gold and a silver), six World Championship golds and three overall World Cup titles. She is no stranger to pressure, high-stakes competition or winning.
In her third Olympics however, everything seemed to slip from beneath her.
Literally.
Not only did she fail to obtain a medal in her five events, but also she fell and DNF (did not finish) in three events - the slalom, giant slalom and alpine combined, which are her best events. She ended up with a 9th in super-G and 18th in downhill. To give some context, she just came off of a gold in alpine combined, silver in giant slalom, bronze in slalom and bronze in super-G at the World Championships in 2021.
Following her performance, she was disappointed, frustrated and questioned everything. This was not the outcome that she or her team expected.
After her third DNF, she said she “feels like a joke.” And if that wasnʻt enough, her whole experience was broadcasted to the whole world on the biggest stage there is in sports.
The onset of critics and hateful comments ensued immediately:
“Choker”
“Canʻt handle the pressure”
“LOSERITIS”
“Canʻt perform as soon as she has competition”
“Should have left the slope immediately after crashing to get out of the way and out of the spotlight”
“Your time is over, retire”
“Arrogant”
“Narcissist”
“Fake nice”
“Got what you deserved”
“Dumb blonde”
“0-5”
“Dumb bitch canʻt even do the one thing she is supposed to do right”
“Didnʻt get all the medals and now sheʻs going insane”
“Gone off the deep end”
“Canʻt wait for you do be done so we donʻt have to see your failure loser face anymore”
“Disgrace, unacceptable”
(Source: Mikaela Shiffrinʻs Instagram Post)
Could these people say their hateful comments to her face? Probably not.
But behind a screen? Itʻs oh so easy.
However, this is not the point. Haters are gonna hate.
Itʻs the way that Mikaela responds that is so important. She posted this to her Instagram following her last chance to medal as an individual. Read her message thoroughly (it may sound familiar to a certain quote that I love):
“Well kids... Feed ʻem what you wanna feed ʻem. Self pity, sadness… let the turkeys get you down. There will always be turkeys. Or get up, again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Get up because you can, because you like what you do when itʻs not infested with the people who have so much apparent hate for you. Just get up. Itʻs not always easy, but itʻs also not the end of the world to fail. Fail twice. Fail 5 times. At the Olympics.
(Enter me…) Why do I keep coming back? Gosh knows it hurts more than it feels good lately. I come back because those first 9 turns today were spectacular, really heaven. Thatʻs where Iʻm meant to be and Iʻm stubborn as s**t…”
(Source: Mikaela Shiffrinʻs Instagram Post)
I have chills!! How amazing is this response.
And let her be the first to tell you that this response is not for the haters. Itʻs for the people who have felt this hate.
Those who have felt so, so small. Who wanted to give up. Though we may not make it to the Olympics, this feeling is universal and all too relatable.
Maybe people have said awful things about your appearance, what you like, your art, your ideas, your abilities, etc.
Whatever it is, know that youʻre not alone and that you have the power to keep going.
How long will it take us to realize that failure is okay. That failure is what makes us human. And that it is necessary. Itʻs what makes us cherish that sweet, sweet taste of success.
For me, this is a real life example of the “Man in the Arena” quote (sidenote: I just wrote about this - you can check it out here). A full embodiment.
Those haters could not even imagine what it takes to get to the Olympics three years in a row. The fact that people have anything to say about athletes in the OLYMPICS at all is insane. They are already the best in the world by just being there. Weʻre talking about the .0002%.
No one is safe.
Theodore Roosevelt refers to these people as ʻcold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.ʻ
But Mikaela Shiffrin is not one of them. She is far from it. She fails again and again and again and gets back up each time. She has seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows, but knows herself well enough to continue to go after her passion.
These high level athletes are truly inspirational and slowly but surely changing our societal norms. At 26 years old, she is not only a world class athlete, but also a world class human. I, for one, canʻt wait to see what she does next.
Did this quote bring up any specific memory or time for you? Do you relate to it right now? How does it make you feel? Ponder, self-reflect and share if it feels right :)
