Being your best and reaching the top of a podium is not the end of a journey. It’s the start of a new chapter to go from your best to better.
Olympic gold medal gymnast Carly Patterson shared life lessons to go from your best to better inside and outside the gym during the first ever Women’s Impact Network Summit on Thursday, Oct. 8.
The first way Patterson told the sold out Summit to go from best to better was to embrace little sparks in life.
“Six-year-old Carly’s spark came at my cousin’s gymnastics birthday party and led to an incredible life changing journey,” she said.
A coach approached a young Patterson at the party and asked where she took gymnastics. When she replied this was her first time, the coach was able to see that little spark and something different in Patterson.
“Chase sparks and see what they can lead to in your life,” she said.
Another way to go from best to better, Patterson added, is the way individuals look at the podium steps in their lives.
At just 10-years-old Patterson was winning competitions all over Louisiana and getting to the top of all the podiums. She then went to her first National Competition and placed 76th.
“A harsh reality hit that there was still so much work to be done if I wanted to get anywhere near that podium,” Patterson said.
Just like at the National Competition, Patterson said everyone is going to deal with that competition in their lives, but it’s a good thing because it helps keep you sharp and wanting to improve.
“There was always another gymnast in another gym working just as hard,” she said. “You don’t question when you’re on top, but start to second guess when you are not hitting your goals. Be willing to do what others are not willing to do and find what drives you to stay on top of the podium and use it as another step towards those opportunities that are out there.”
When the results to move up the podium are not seen, it’s not common to feel a burnout, but Patterson encouraged everyone to go back to their reasons why.
At 11-years-old, Patterson’s father’s job transferred the family from Baton Rogue, Louisiana, to Houston, Texas. Everyone was excited for the new adventure, but once there it turned out it was not as awesome as she had hoped.
The new gym and coaches were very different from what Patterson was used to and doubts started to creep in about quitting gymnastics.
Patterson told her coaches on a Monday she was quitting and that lasted until Friday.
“By the end of the week I hated not doing gymnastics,” she said. “That week off changed my mindset, not the differences of the gym, and it showed me what life would look like without gymnastics and I realized I didn’t like it.”
A year later, Patterson’s father was then transferred to Dallas where things were going well and she felt like everything was falling back into place and that spark was back.
“We all have been in those seasons of burnouts before and it’s crucial to know what your whys are,” she said. “Remembering what’s on your radar can help you out of those seasons.”
The 2004 Athens Olympics is what the blinking light on Patterson’s radar was that kept her moving forward.
“Life would be much more simple if we had smooth paths towards our goals,” Patterson said. “Things can come at us that seem more appealing than good old fashion hard work.”
This came in the form of independence and new freedoms with Patterson getting her diver’s license just six months from the Olympics, a bad time to become distracted.
Patterson’s coach had a “come to Jesus” meeting about if her goals and priorities had changed and the mall, friends and sleepovers were now more important.
“I had to put my blinders on to drown out all the distractions and commit to working as hard as I could for the next six months so I wouldn’t have to look back and wonder what could have happened,” Patterson said. “Thank goodness for those people that sometimes have to sit us down and help us remember what our goals and priorities are. It was hard to look past in the moment, but that wasn’t what I had put all those years of hard work into.”
Once back on track to her goal of making the Olympic team, Patterson had some setbacks come about that she did not have time to encounter.
At the World Championship, Patterson began experiencing pain in her elbow and needed surgery that would put her on the shelf for weeks.
“Save the setbacks for later,” she said.
Patterson and her coach came up with a different plan to make it work through the competition and her team became the first ever U.S. Women’s Team to win gold at the World Championships, making history in the sport.
“It’s amazing the growth that can happen when we step up to those challenges,” she said. “We gain a whole new level of confidence and are able to see what we are truly capable of and that we can get through really hard things.”
Once returning from the World Championships, Patterson went through surgery and was able to come back stronger, she said, because she chose to save the setback for later.
The day after the surgery, she was back in the gym to stay focused and spent more time training flexibility and dance. Patterson said she didn’t necessarily have the time to focus on before the surgery, but was able to level up in other areas while her elbow healed.
“Our setbacks can become some of our greatest setups for history making moments,” she said.
And that is literally what Patterson did. She made history and became the first American gymnast in 20 years to win an all around Olympic gold medal.
“It was the most incredible, surreal, unforgettable moment of your life and you think, ‘oh my gosh, you did it. You’re the best, now what,’” Patterson wondered.
She returned home and finished school and decided her next goal after winning an Olympic gold medal at just 16-years-old would be to go for a gold Grammy.
“Because I was great at gymnastics and it worked out, that didn’t mean everything I would try would work out the same,” she said. “Turns out winning a gold Grammy is very hard.”
Patterson explained it was hard to walk away from music as she believed everything she did in her life would have to live up to her Olympic gold medal moment.
“Lessons learned from the setbacks is that it’s not about having control because most of the things that happen in our lived are going to be out of our control,” she said. “It’s about consistently getting better through life’s challenges.”
Patterson went on to marry her husband and have the family they tried a long time for and is traveling the world encouraging others with her story.
“Stay focused, disciplined, build good habits and most importantly, be grateful,” she said. “Always work on becoming the best version of yourself and you will always have something to be proud of. What defines us is how we let all these things take us from our best to better.”
