This past weekend the USA men’s and women’s teams rose to expectations and stood atop the medal stand with gold shining bright. To many that follow international basketball, the heavy favorites were both the star-studded USA women’s team with the best of the WNBA along with the iconic roster of NBA greats on the USA men’s side. It was gold or bust for these two squads.
Think of the underdog versus expected champion mentality. While the favored team may come with high confidence, there’s also naturally more pressure that comes with expectations. They may play a little tight or not be as willing to be flexible in their approach. The underdog mentality, on the other hand, tends to let it all come out. When there’s little to lose there’s more of a willingness to try new things and gamble at the moment more often.
As fans we expect two teams of stacked talent to run through the competition with no issue. While both USA basketball teams went 6-0 the road was never perfect. It’s a good reminder that even the most perfect of teams have plenty of imperfect moments along the way.
Take the USA men’s team for example. At one point in the semifinal game, they were down 17 against Serbia. It was a chance for the high expectations to consume the USA men’s team and let the tightness and pressure of expectations sink them. Instead, the focus of the gold medal, along with an incredible 4th quarter by 3 veterans on the team, steered the team to a comeback 4-point victory. An easy opportunity to crack under pressure but as you can hear it in the postgame interviews, the focus on the gold and remaining confident all throughout helped minimize this pressure.
“It’s great to be tested. And our ultimate goal is one game away.” – LeBron James¹
“I haven’t had many opportunities and haven’t shot the ball well the whole tournament. But it doesn’t waver your confidence to meet the moment.” – Steph Curry¹
“You have to be able to maintain your poise, and that’s what impressed me the most in the second half, just the poise of our guys, combined with the competitive spirit to get it done.” – coach Steve Kerr¹
The ultimate goal of gold became more influential than the pressure of expectations.
On the USA women’s side, the road to the gold medal game looked much easier with comfortable wins until the championship against France. With less than 15 seconds left in the game, France had cut the lead to only 2 when they sent USA guard Kelsey Plum to the free throw line. The free throw line is a lonely spot with the world watching to see if Kelsey would sink these much-needed free throws or whether pressure would win out. Kelsey came up clutch with 2 made free throws to go up 4. France came back with another big shot to cut the lead to 1. This time it was Kahleah Copper’s time for pressure and with all the expectations falling heavy, she came up big as well with 2 more made free throws to bring the lead to 3. They needed every bit of the clutch performances at the free throw line to withstand a last second push by France. Victory for the USA women’s team and the ultimate feeling of a gold medal hanging from their neck persevered over the pressure of high expectations.
Even when our moments or successes are expected to happen, it doesn’t mean it comes with an easy and straight forward road ahead. Pressure is a force that’s hard to withstand when expectations feel heavy. When you’re on a project that’s expected to succeed, it doesn’t mean it won’t come with plenty of struggles to persevere from. When the volunteer event that’s been successful for years has another good turnout, it doesn’t mean there weren’t hurdles to get to a great outcome.
Situations where we’re expected to be successful can be tricky mentally. If we aren’t successful, it feels like a huge failure. If we are successful, it may feel minimized with the thought success was expected. These moments of high expectations may look like an easy path to the outside but understand these still come with hurdles and struggles we must persevere from. Success comes in all different forms throughout our journey and although from the outside it may look easy, it’s okay to acknowledge the struggle. But the struggle can be met with a mentality of focusing on what we’re striving to become as opposed to just the pressure in the moment.
As we’ve seen and heard from these two gold medal teams, being tested is good and allows us to take on the challenge of rising to the occasion. The pressure and expectations will certainly get to us occasionally, but it’s the focus on who we’re striving to become that will help push through the diversity of struggles we see and come out of the experience stronger and smarter.
Take your step: acknowledge situations where you feel the weight of the pressure of high expectations. While outsiders may take for granted the work it brings, stay focused on who you’re trying to become. It’s not about the external expectations or pressures placed on you. It’s about what you expect from yourself in who you’re striving to become that means the most. When pressure hits, focus inward on your why.