Pitstop 007 - How Mikaela Shiffrin stopped fearing failure and keeps on winning

“I don’t think I care if I don’t win another race.”

Those are Mikaela Shiffrin’s words. Not something you’d expect to hear from a three time Olympic champion with six overall World Cup titles and one of the most decorated careers in alpine skiing.

On this week’s Pitstop, we’re breaking down the mindset that got her to the top and allows her to stay there year after year.

Love the process or find something else to do

The brutal truth about winning, or success in general, is that you work towards a specific outcome for months, sometimes years. And before you know it, it’s over again.

You win the medal, you lift the trophy, you celebrate briefly and just like that, it’s back to work.

More often than not, the glory we’re actually chasing is hiding in plain sight.

It’s in pushing through the early mornings when all you want is to go back to bed.
It’s in sticking to your diet a week longer than you planned to.
It’s in that one extra rep on that one last set.
It’s in obsessing over every little detail, even though it might seem unnecessary.

That’s the job. And if you don’t like that part, Mikaela says you should probably find something else to do. Because if you don’t enjoy what you do, you’ll burn out long before any results show up.

So ask yourself. Would I still show up if no one ever knew I existed?

If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.

The faster you get up, the faster you get to the top

Leading up to the 2022 Games in Beijing, Mikaela was by far the favourite for gold in giant slalom. In the days before the race she had some of the best training of her life, she was feeling good and everything was lining up for her to win.

But she didn’t. She pushed it too far, missed a gate and just like that, her shot at gold was gone.

She had every right to go back to her room and beat herself up about it. Instead, she took the gondola down to the village, changed into her slalom gear, went right back up and started preparing for the next race.

This didn’t change anything about the result. But focusing on what she could actually control is exactly what got her back on track.

Refusing to let a setback break your momentum is a common pattern among winners.

At a private dinner, Elon Musk was once asked what he’d do if SpaceX and Tesla both failed and he lost every dollar he had. His answer was to move into the cheapest apartment he could find, buy a computer and start building again within 24 hours.

Not a week later. Not after sulking about it. Right away.

He said losing the money wouldn’t bother him, but losing the companies would devastate him, but it wouldn’t stop him from getting back up and building again.

No one has it figured out.

What I respect most about Mikaela is that she never pretends to have it all figured out.

In fact, she talks openly about her struggles and anxiety. After her first Olympic gold, she felt so much pressure to win that she was throwing up at the start line. She admits that from the outside her life might look like a fairytale, but behind the scenes she’s still dealing with a bunch of struggles and plenty of rough days.

Honesty goes a long way, even in the public eye. When you’re honest about the hard stuff, it gives others permission to be honest too. People get behind you, and they see who you actually are. That’s exactly what everyone is craving in a world full of polished content and picture perfect lives.

Okay, that’s it. See you next week,
Jeremy