Nadia Comaneci was the Romanian sweetheart of the Montreal Summer Olympics of 1976. I was in my late teens then and watched gymnastics intently those days. She was only 14 years old and these were her Olympics. She scored the first ever PERFECT 10 in gymnastics!
She was an extremely active child who enjoyed running and jumping.She was so active that she broke 4 couches at home, by snapping the springs in them! She was discovered by a gymnastics coach, Bela Karoloyi, who invited her to audition for his club. But first, before anyone could join the club, they had to pass a set of tests.
These tests included a long jump, a 15 metre sprint, and a walk on a balance beam. The walk on the balance beam was the most important part of the test, because many people are afraid of it. It’s only 4 inches wide and 4 feet off the ground. But Nadia walked on it like it was solid ground.
She was fearless. FEARLESS! And that fearlessness and confidence made her a champion.
What if someone only focused on the negativity and destruction of her actions? Instead they saw the great energy and drive and fearlessness that this little girl had inside herself.
Today, believe it or not, these traits constitute a diagnosis in ADHD and therefore the downward spiral of self esteem in many children.What is going on here? How many children are needlessly being told that there is something wrong with them. Why must they be forced to conform?
In my mind, conformity is a great sin and should be avoided as much as possible. Great people do great things, but only when they follow their own paths.
Cheers. Dr. Joanny
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng. Dr Joanny Liu “Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.” Best selling book at: Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game Remember, we’ve got two books about healing concussions in Amazon: Knock OUT Concussions, Heal Your Concussion: 21 Days to Brain Health, and Dr. Joanny’s new book, Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game is NOW live on Amazon!
