Why we all face gold medal syndrome
Simone Biles and Suni Lee celebrate their gold and bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Do you ever wonder what happens to Olympic athletes after they step off the podium? Occasionally, we’ll hear them behind the mic at future games, alerting us that an act of human brilliance actually had the minutest of flaws that put a medal out of reach.
But, what about the rest of their lives?
Watching the Olympics this year, I can’t help but think about “what next” for all of these athletes. And how those retiring are about to hit the biggest identity crisis of their lives. They’ve been star athletes, Olympic hopefuls, and now Olympians. But on August 12, they’ll have a new moniker: former Olympians. This will be a shock to their systems and a moment of reckoning with the start of a new life.
There’s a term for what many experience: gold medal syndrome, or post-Olympic blues. It’s the sense of loss, potentially segueing into depression, that comes with an abrupt change of status.
While most of us may not be Olympians, we’ll all experience a version of gold medal syndrome.
It happens whenever a part of our identity shifts: from student to worker, from childless to parent, from working to retired, etc. When we lose or gain a new skin that fundamentally changes our experience of life.
I’ve been there. When I left prestigious design firm IDEO, I was no longer “Amy from IDEO,” and I felt adrift. Sure, I had other things in my life. But a core part of how I’d defined myself was gone. How I filled my days and who I surrounded myself with radically changed. I traveled through a fair bit of angst before I felt on sure footing again.
I felt that identity jolt too when I moved back to the US after being an expat for 13 years. Being an American overseas was a core part of my identity, a short-cut for meeting like-minded people, and an immersive experience I cherished. It took me a while to rebuild a new identity.
These are some of my stories. What are yours? For all of us, the question becomes: what can we do about this sense of lost identity?
You probably already know the practical things: start beefing up the rest of your life, mark this transition with a celebration, etc. But the real power comes from approaching this new identity with care and curiosity.
Care looks like asking “What do I need right now to acknowledge this change?” (For me after IDEO, it was a long vacation with a good friend and a whole bunch of yoga, followed up with a dose of therapy.)
And curiosity begins with a reframe from loss to gain. Try asking “I wonder how my life is about to change for the better? What will I be able to do that I couldn't before? What will ‘sweeter than gold’ look like?“ (For me, it's been starting my own business, having more time with family, and living by the sea.)
Because while you may never have climbed an Olympic medals podium, you’re still susceptible to gold medal syndrome. I can’t wait to hear what’s sweeter than gold in new your life!
(And if you need help figuring that out, reach out. I'd be delighted to help you.)