More than an athlete

One thing jumps out to me at the 2022 Olympics. Every single Olympian is MORE than an athlete.

Some know it and others don't, yet. Being MORE than a label, breaking free from your box, is a big deal. Olympics are an extreme reminder of this.

ATHLETES BREAK FREE FROM THEIR LABELS

Take Simone Biles who competed in the summer Olympics and faced scrutiny for her decision not to compete even though she was the favorite in gymnastics.

Her July 28th tweet says it all, “…has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before.”

Indeed, Simone is more than a gymnast. But she needed to see this for herself.

And, look at Vincent Zhou who had to suddenly withdraw from the 2022 figure skating competition because of his positive COVID test. He also chose to remind us he's more than a test, and the sentence after his headline quote reads: "I am more than just another face in the crowd.”

Much of this energy actually started in 2018 when the phrase #morethananathlete went viral thanks to the series of the same name that featured LeBron James and longtime friends-turned-business partners Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and Randy Mims.

That's right, a whole "more than an athlete" hashtag went viral and has millions of tags on social media because so many athletes feel this sentiment.

Imagine #morethanacoach #morethanamarketer #morethanacoder #morethanascientist and any other term you wish to use.

The bottom line- why do so many people feel the need to express they are more than their job titles?

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THE KEY TAKEAWAY

What do these tweets, headlines, and stories tell us? People of all walks of life and backgrounds fight to remind us that they are more than the labels we see them as or assign to them.

When we realize we can break the boxes we've been put into, that we're not defined by the things we've done or the titles we've been given, it's a moment of taking our power back and stepping into ourselves on our terms.

So, if you know you're more than your title, then what?

What's the next move after that?

That's when you have to define yourself and decide what you want to call yourself. Taking back the power means you have to invent your own title in order for people to drop your old one!