As the Canadian Olympic Soccer Team made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, I considered things that are more important than winning, and the danger of a win-at-all costs mentality.  

Welcome to the 75^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. In addition to things that are more important than winning, this week I look at generational differences, and decluttering the fridge and freezer.

On my mind this week: Things that are more important than winning

This week, I’ve been glued to my TV most days watching Olympic coverage. There’s something about the Olympics that makes me watch sports I wouldn’t normally pay attention to. (Hello rugby, swimming, judo, and athletics!)

Unfortunately, the Canadian Olympic Team was making headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, as “Dronegate” hit the news. If you haven’t heard, several members of the Canadian women’s soccer team’s coaching staff were suspended after being caught using drones to spy on the New Zealand team’s practice.

In addition to the coaching suspensions, the team—who are the defending Olympic Champions—were penalized six points. That was the saddest part of the story for me. These athletes have worked so hard and dedicated their lives to their sport. Competing at this level is all-consuming and to be dealt such a blow at the start of the Olympic tournament was heartbreaking for them.

That said, I admire the grit they demonstrated in doing what they needed to do to make the medal round despite the penalty against them. Unfortunately, they lost to Germany in the quarter finals so that’s the end of their 2024 Olympic journey.

Time and time again, this win-at-all-costs mentality is on display in our world. In addition to sports, it’s pervasive in academia, the business world, and politics.

Things that are more important than winning

Despite what the old saying says, winning isn’t everything. Here are four things that are more important than winning:

• Integrity. I believe you need to be able to look yourself in the mirror and like what you see looking back at you. The shine of the medal, or the latest victory of any kind, will fade over time. Consider how you want to be remembered.
• Good sportsmanship. It warms my heart to see athletes congratulating their opponents on their success. This has been evident in the Olympic swimming pool this week as many athletes were quick to give hugs and high fives to the winners.
• Gratitude. Being an elite athlete is tough. With so much focus on medal winners, I’m always happy to see athletes who don’t win medals express gratitude for the opportunity to represent their country, or delight at having achieved a personal best.
• Resilience. Every challenge gives you an opportunity to grow and come back stronger. After they failed to make the “A” final in Lightweight Double Sculls, Canadian rowers Jill Moffatt and Jenny Casson gave a tearful and emotional interview with their anger and frustration on full display. A couple of days later, they bounced back to take second place in the “B” final. After that race, they said they were buoyed by the positive, supportive messages they had received from Canadians over the last few days. From tears of devastation to tears of gratitude. That’s resilience!

Luckily, the bad news of dronegate was quickly replaced by terrific news stories as our Canadian athletes saw success it in the swimming pool, and in the fencing, judo, rowing, tennis and trampoline competitions.

Let’s go Canada!

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• I’m happy to be retired so I can sit and watch the Olympics all day!
• Seventeen-year-old Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh has been crushing it in the Olympic pool this week, winning three gold medals and one silver medal. What a talent!
• On Thursday, I volunteered in the warehouse for Send ‘Em Off Smiling, a local charity that provides fully stocked backpacks for students in need in our community.

Things I learned this week

Because I’ve been watching so much of the Olympics, I’ve fallen behind on my regular learning this week. However, here are some interesting nuggets I’ve picked up from the book I’m currently reading:  Generations by Jean M. Twenge, PhD. It’s a fascinating and research backed look at the difference between generations.

• Much of the countercultural shift of the 1960s was led by Silents (born 1925-1945) and not Boomers (born 1946-1964).
• In the 1930s, women were earning a higher proportion of college degrees than in the 1950s and 1960s.
• Problems like income equality that Boomers are blamed for have affected their own generation as much as the younger generations.
• In 1957, three out of four US adults believed women who remained unmarried were “sick”, “neurotic” or “immoral”.
• Alcohol use disorder doubled among older adults between 2001 and 2013.

I’ll share more learnings as I move into the chapters on Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

This week’s decluttering challenge – Fridge and freezer

In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was clearing out the fridge and freezer. I’m happy to report my efforts to cut food waste are paying off. I found only 5 mysterious items lurking in the fridge and freezer…a huge improvement over the first time I did this exercise. You can find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.

If you’d like to join the challenge, visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.