What’s Possible

Mary Lou Retton scored a perfect 10 on the vault in the 1984 Olympics. I remember it. That particular vault made her the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics. She opened the doors of possibility for little American gymnasts all over the country. If you go back and watch the routines from the 1980s compared to the routines done today, the differences are incredible. What was possible became the gateway for what is now probable, even ordinary. The evolution is inspiring.

As we have been watching the Olympics for the past couple of weeks, I have been inspired again by Shaun White. I can remember first watching him in the 2006 Olympic games. He flew higher than anyone on the halfpipe. It was insane. No one was doing the tricks he was at the height he was. He was in a league of his own. Shaun White was an example of what was possible. Again, the door was opened and the opportunity for growth made available. Not even 20 years later, the 2022 snowboard halfpipe was full of athletes who were all soaring as high as Shaun White.

Olympians are so fun to watch, but are they unicorns? Is it just a few special people who can accomplish that kind of mastery?

I don’t think so.

I respect the first ones…the brave people who go out and try something new, something untested, something crazy. (like the first Jamaican bobsled team). I love the people who open doors and show us what is possible.

But when the door is open, what is next? We look through it, questioning if the possibility is there for us, too? How do you answer that question?

For me, the answer is a resounding YES!

Unfortunately, I am not about to announce my Olympic debut. I will share a story about how I walked through a door of possibility.

I have a friend who truly loves everyone. She inspires me as much as any Olympian. She loves me, my kids, and every other person she knows. I became very curious about her ability. It was baffling. Loving like that was not something that comes easily to me. She would run over and talk to the people I tried to avoid. I saw her hugging the very same people I wanted to punch. Seriously. At first, I took the easy road and said she was just special. She was wired differently. She was a unicorn.

As time passed, I looked through her door of possibility again and again. Could I love everyone? EVERYONE?

After a lot of learning and coaching, I decided that her ability to love was availble to me as well. I walked through the door and started trying to love everyone. Like any novice, I was terrible. Really awful. I was struggling to even love my kids, at times. UGH! I often asked myself how long this was going to take??

Well, I can’t even give a definite answer because I’m still in the thick of trying and failing.

It is easy for me to love people who love me, who are kind and supportive. I can love all the people who think I’m wonderful and amazing and do nothing wrong. It’s simple to love everyone when everything in your life is perfect. But loving under those conditions is a fairytale. Truly, I want to love everyone, no matter what. Right now, it is very difficult to love the ones who have been mean and nasty—the ones who lie, cheat, and betray. But my friend does it. Her life is far from perfect, and she loves anyway. She showed me what’s possible.

So I will keep trying and failing and trying and failing. And someday, I’m going to love everyone just like my friend does.

I walked through the door of possibility.

So can you.