Inspired Ideas: Cheer Loudly for Others

I’m ever so slightly obsessed with the Olympics, which I’ve mentioned before. For the past two weeks, I’ve watched NBC’s broadcast every night. I try really hard to not look at any headlines online throughout the day, and I’ve also been known to mute the news in the morning in an effort to not know any of the results before the evening broadcast. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I end up knowing who won (and I watch thinking maybe someone was wrong…HA).

It amazes me what the human body can endure both physically and mentally. These ladies and gents have experienced some of the lowest of lows – they’ve lost loved ones, been injured countless times, and lost by fractions of seconds – and yet they get back up again. They refuse to give up or give in to the temptation to quit because they love their sport that much. They’re fiercely determined to succeed whether it’s to have the extreme honor of having the title Olympian or the greatest achievement of winning an Olympic medal of any color (seriously, any color is epic to me).

So I cheer them on. Loudly.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve found myself cheering for athletes from the United States, absolutely, but also from other countries, like Russia, Canada, and of course…JAMAICA! I adore the bobsledders from Jamaica. Their positive attitude is infectious. No matter the country, I want these ladies and gents to succeed because of the copious amounts of hard work they’ve dedicated to their training; because of the sheer joy that crosses their face when they realize they’ve reached a personal goal; because of the joyous reactions of their family members and fellow countrymen sometimes solely based on the fact that their favorite athlete has finished.

The thing about cheering on these athletes (or friends or family in every day life), is it brings me so much happiness. Cheering for someone – in the case of the Olympics, someone I don’t even know – allows me to forget about my possible frustrations from that day. Cheering for someone allows me to escape to a place of positivity and focus on the feeling that anything (literally anything) can happen.

I’m reminded of the same thing over and over again: lifting someone else up with positivity has the power to simultaneously make you feel better about your situation. Sometimes you just feel grateful. Sometimes what you’re facing no longer looks as dire or impossible. Sometimes it makes you want to keep going even more. Whatever the case, cheering for someone (that I know) always makes me love and appreciate them that much more.

Whether you’re cheering for an Olympian you may never meet in person or a friend or family member you see all the time, cheer them on…loudly. Everyone deserves to be supported, and support from you might just mean the world to them. Cheer, it’s powerful, infectious, and fun. Go team.