It’s hard not to be super proud of all our Aussie athletes and the years of dedication and preparation that got them to world standard. There is a key element in winning Olympic Gold that most people are not consciously aware of.  It would be easy to believe every athlete in an Olympic final has a good chance of taking home the gold medal but the odds are clearly stacked in favour of the current world champions and world record holders. These athletes have something the others don’t, aside from more pressure and expectation!

Performance enhancing drugs are banned for Olympic athletes for this same reason because they give athletes a slight edge over the rest of the field. If you can identify any athlete that has a slight edge over their competitors such as past Olympic champions Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, they will most likely take home the Gold Medal for their country.

Malcom Gladwell identifies the power of this Slight Edge phenomena in his book Outliers. Gladwell gives the example of the Canadian Hockey League, the world’s most competitive youth hockey league. Since the cut-off date for the Canadian leagues for players is January 1, those born in the first part of the calendar year are just slightly larger and slightly more coordinated than their peers. This gives them an edge and they are given more playing time and better coaching, and thus become better players by the time they reach the top league. An overwhelming majority of Canadian professional hockey players have birthdays in January, February or March. 

Another book dedicated to the power of this key concept is a book called ‘The Slight Edge’ by author, Jeff Olson. It identifies the compound effect of your habits and choices, - the Slight Edge. Everything you do, every decision you make, every action (and inaction!) has a slight positive or negative impact on the final outcome (there is no neutral here, and I tend to agree).

But just like compound interest, all these slight choices and actions stack up over time, creating a huge momentum in either a positive or a negative direction. According to the author, it is very, very rare that success (in business, personal finance, health, relationships, …) is the result of a “big leap” or overnight success. It is rather the effect of the compound of small, almost insignificant, actions over time.

But if success is the result of such a simple thing, how does it seem so unattainable for most people? Olson repeatedly answers this question throughout his book with the simple, but powerful phrase: “what’s easy to do, is easy not to do”. Is it easy to exercise for 20 minutes each day? Yes of course, it is. But it’s also very easy to just skip today, and then tomorrow, and the day after that… Same goes for reading, meditation, eating healthy, sleeping well…or training for Olympic Gold.

Good health habits done daily will give you a slight edge that will compound throughout your life and when you reach your golden years you will feel like you won the health gold medal compared to your friends and family who found it easy not to do what is required to stay healthy.

Be your best,

Joel Tyack