Hello, my friends! It seems like I’m taking longer and longer to write posts for my blog, and it’s not because I don’t want to or don’t have the time. I think it’s because I keep wondering, “What the hell am I going to say that’s interesting?” Then I remind myself, “Nuria, this blog is your freaking diary!” But then I think, “If I’m already talking to myself all day, why write it down?” Jajaja, I might be a bit crazy… But today, I thought, “What the fuck? Let’s write something.” And since I’ve been glued to the Olympics for the past two weeks, it seems like the perfect topic!

Since I was a child, the Olympics have fascinated me. I think my first memory was seeing Nadia Comaneci perform her perfect 10 routines at the 1976 Olympics. I was 8 years old, and I clearly remember watching this woman soar through the air with elegance and perfection, fearless and confident; she was a goddess. That’s where my fascination with gymnastics began, and later with other sports (my favorites, apart from gymnastics, are swimming, diving, and athletics… honestly, I think I could spend the whole day watching any sport). But I wonder why, and part of what fascinates me is the competition. Yes, the competition, but not just to see who wins, but to witness everything that person has done to get where they are: the sacrifices, the effort, and being able to see the joy of the winners, but also the frustration of the losers. To see stories of people who have been fighting for years to be the best and to watch how some succeed and others don’t. And I wonder, why is that? Why do some succeed and others don’t? Is it talent? Hard work? Genetics? Mental state?

The Olympics also show you that athletes’ triumphs aren’t just about effort, talent, or genetics. A big part of it is thanks to the people who surround and support them, not just financially, but most importantly, emotionally. In the end, that’s what matters most. You can have the genetics, work hard, and be lucky, but without emotional support, everything can go to shit. There are many examples of this, and I recommend the movie “Dive” which really shows this truth.

And now, after all this, we reach the core of my post: the Olympics of life! Yes, our life is a grand Olympics, a competition with others, but more importantly, a competition with ourselves. Throughout our lives, we compete to be the best and achieve goals, sometimes winning the gold medal, other times settling for silver or bronze, and in many cases finishing last, or worse, fourth, so close yet so far. We hang these medals in our minds, our souls store them, and the defeats also hang inside us, often weighing more than the medals. We evaluate ourselves daily and train day after day to be the best, seeking recognition from others. We fight for our dreams, sometimes in front of a cheering crowd and other times alone, in silence, with our demons.

I have some gold medals (self-awarded, hahahaha.) Look, everyone evaluates themselves as best they can, right? But I believe that in the “competition” of life, we need to know how to train, how to stay focused, and who our trainers should be—the ones who help motivate us. We need to know what and who to avoid. In the end, the medals don’t matter as much; the most important thing is knowing how to compete with enthusiasm, drive, and always staying true to ourselves and respectful of our competitors.

I encourage you to take stock of your medals and defeats, who has trained you, who has been your cheerleaders, and who has tried to stand in the way of your dreams. I also invite you to reflect on why you’ve won sometimes and lost others. What were the causes? What type of competition do you enjoy the most? What are you training for right now? Who are your competitors? Where do you keep your medals? Who do you share your achievements with?