Olympics 2012: The Optimism Legacy
31 Aug 2012 | Bridget Grenville-Cleave
During the recent Olympic Games in London an unparalleled mood
of optimism and hope swept across the UK. Even people who don't
love sports couldn't help being drawn into the anticipation and
excitement, sharing the heroism of the medal winners and the
heart-break of those who missed out, whether by a millimetre or a
mile. Who could not be impressed by the sight of beaming Mo Farah winning gold in the 10,000m, the
inimitable Usain Bolt and the Jamaican sprint team in the
100m, 200m and men's 400m relay, or the magnificent, multi-talented
Jessica Ennis in the women's heptathlon? With
so many breath-taking moments and new Olympic and world records
set, only the most hard-hearted and care-worn weren't moved.
The Power of Optimism
We now know a great deal more about the power of optimism and
hope through positive psychology research. Contrary to what you
might expect, optimists make continued efforts to reach their goals
whereas pessimists are more likely to give up when the going gets
tough. Hope and optimism predict many desirable outcomes including
academic achievement, good relationships, physical well-being, and
freedom from depression and anxiety. In fact positive psychologist
Chris Peterson refers to them as "velcro
constructs" because they have so many positive correlates
and consequences.
What's all the more astonishing about the recent wave of
positivity and enthusiasm in the UK is that exactly a year ago the
world's media was full "Broken Britain" headlines following the
August 2011 riots in London, Manchester, and Birmingham. The
British are not naturally optimistic. We know from several studies
of national character strengths that hope and optimism fall quite a
long way down the list. Linley and colleagues place them at about
20 out of 24 in the UK. We're not alone in this: hope and optimism
don't feature as signature strengths for any of the 54 nations
studied by Park and colleagues.
Moving from Pessimism to Optimism
So how has it been possible for a population to move from
pessimism to optimism in a relatively short space of time? The
feel-good factor we've experienced this summer may be the result of
focusing on what is going well for the UK rather than what is going
wrong. The media play a significant part in this. From the stunning
opening ceremony onwards there was positive wall-to-wall coverage
of the Games on TV, radio, in print, and online. This was augmented
by the somewhat unexpected sporting prowess of the UK team in
events such as rowing and cycling. Having been fed a media diet of
failing footballers, cricketers, and tennis-players for years, to
find out that there is an enormous amount of home-grown talent in
such an array of Olympic disciplines has come as a huge surprise to
many.
But this unusual wave of optimism isn't just a result of
sporting success. Aside from winning many more medals than
anticipated, other aspects of the Games have won admiration,
approval, and respect from around the world: the support and
encouragement shown by British fans for sportsmen and women of all
nations, the upbeat atmosphere, the efficient organization, and the
boundless good humour and enthusiasm of the 70,000 Olympics volunteers (a.k.a "Games Makers") over
the two weeks of the games.
Our typical down-beat, self-deprecatory, complaining
manner (almost!) disappeared for the 17 days of the Games. Instead,
we took the opportunity to come together in support of positive
endeavour and achievement, to watch together in awe as new world
and Olympic records were set, to cheer and celebrate as we
witnessed a spectacular performance, to commiserate together when
things didn't turned out as we hoped, and above all to show our
appreciation for the highest standards and performance in sport
that we will ever see in this country in our lifetime. It was a
remarkable demonstration of human endeavour and achievement. As Mo
Farah put it immediately after winning the 10,000m gold medal,
"It's all hard work and grafting…It's been a long
journey grafting and grafting, but anything is
possible".
Now that the Olympic Games are over, many have been putting
their minds to the vexing question of the "Olympic Legacy". Most of
the debate has focussed on how to encourage British children and
young people to aspire to sporting greatness. The UK government has
promised to fund elite athletes up to the 2016 Games in Rio. Of
course sport should play a more important role in the school
curriculum, and yes, for some people, sport does change lives. But
I think this is missing the point. It's almost as if, in the past,
before the 2012 Olympics, our mindset had been one where we simply
hadn't tried very hard (not just in sports but in other domains as
well), giving us a ready-made excuse for not succeeding. The real
legacy of the Olympic Games isn't a sporting one, it's a
psychological one.
It's Cool to Work Hard
Those 17 days have shown us that it's not just about winning
medals or breaking records, or even about successfully organizing
and running one of the world's biggest-ever events enjoyed by
millions across the globe. What we in the UK have experienced
first-hand by participating even just as spectators is that it's
cool to be seen to try hard and be self-disciplined, that
celebrating our achievements rather than bemoaning our losses can
bring us closer together, that we can and should be more confident
in our ability to make a difference, and that we can be optimistic
that we can do the same in the future.
Interestingly, immediately after the closing ceremony
France's Le Monde newspaper was quick to break
up the party atmosphere by pointing out that when the party's over,
"…Britain will face the daily realities again, the economic
crisis, racial and social divides, the scandals which have rocked
[London], they will all quickly return to front of
stage."
It was without doubt an extraordinary two weeks. The question
for us in the UK is whether we can maintain and capitalize on that
sense of Olympic optimism now that the games are over, the athletes
have all flown home, and life is settling back to normal. As with
the sporting legacy, only time will tell.
---
Bridget Grenville-Cleave holds a Masters
degree in Applied Positive Psychology and has over 20 years
experience in organisations, working as a business consultant,
positive psychology trainer and lecturer. She has been a member of
Action for Happiness since launch in 2011. She is running
a Positive
Psychology Masterclass on 27/28 September in Bristol. For more
information contact bridget@workmad.co.uk
This article was originally published on Positive
Psychology News Daily on 30 August 2012 here.
References
Linley, A., Maltby, J., Wood, A., Joseph, S., Harrington, S.,
Peterson, C., Park, N. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2007). Character strengths in the United Kingdom: The VIA
Inventory of Strengths. Personality and Individual
Differences, 43, 341-351.
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2006). Character strengths in 54 nations and the 50 US
states. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(3),
118-129.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and
classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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