Success Under Pressure

finding contentment regardless of the outcome

Olympic Qualifiers || Beijing 2022

It’s hard to believe it has already been a month since qualifier day at the Olympics, February 16th 2022.  People often ask me if I feel nervous anymore when I’m competing.  The honest answer I give them is “Usually, no.”  Part of the reason that I’m able to consistently compete well is that I no longer have my identity tied to success in skiing.  When I was younger, I based my self worth on whether I won contests or not.  

Finding your Identity

Becoming a husband, father and developing passions outside of skiing has given me more balance.  I’m surrounded by people that I know love me for who I am, not what I can do on a pair of skis.  It gives me the confidence to do my best, and not stress about the results.  The feeling that I have before I drop in at contests is closer to excitement or anticipation than nerves or stress.

Success is not defined by a moment in time
Switch Right 7 Double Japan

Success is a State of Mind

The exception to this trend is qualifiers at the Olympics. Getting ready to drop in this time around I felt that familiar and dreaded nervous feeling.  Nerves can be crippling; they deteriorate performance.  If you watched much of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing this year, you might have been surprised how many people crashed, made mistakes on some of their easiest tricks, or in some cases missed the podium completely even though they were favored.  Those are perfect examples of the stress Olympians face during this global event.  

Overcoming the Pressure

It’s hard not to let the hype and external pressure get to you.  Every Olympic athlete has been preparing for those runs for at least four years and for many of them it is their only opportunity in a lifetime to compete on that stage.  

Everyone from your sponsors and coaches to your mom and your first grade art teacher are cheering you on. It is hard not to feel like all of those people are depending on you.  

Both Success and Failure are temporary
Switch 7 Taipan

I constantly have to remind myself that even though those folks want me to do well, I’m the only one that can do these runs through the halfpipe.  If I’m carrying all those people with me while I’m competing, even if it’s just in my mind, I will crumple under the weight.  I usually take a moment to express gratitude to the creator and all of those people for getting me here, and then I focus in on the task at hand.

Mental Strength Technique

 I didn’t have to land the best run of my life to make finals at the Olympics; I just had to land a decent run.  An athlete in a similar situation might easily tell themself: “just don’t blow it”. However, that mentality often has a similar result to telling someone not to think about elephants.

Success is a state of mind it can look like Excitement and pure joy
Success is a state of mind

To combat nerves and pressure at the Olympics I go through the same process as every other competition.  I remind myself what I’m thankful for.  I tell myself that I don’t HAVE to do this, I GET TO do it. Then I focus on one thing, on every hit of that five hit pipe, that I can improve on.  It keeps me tied to the moment and not thinking about the future or the past. it’s one of my best mental strength tools; practicing the presence.

Success begins with practicing presence
Lost is a sea of thoughts, you must find the present moment to find success.

Practicing Presence

No matter what stresses are in your life currently, you can center your thoughts around this exact moment. If you are familiar with meditation, it’s the same thing. It can take as little as one minute so don’t let the excuse of time prevent you from implementing this powerful mental strength tool into your regular routine. The biggest mistake I see people make is the assumption that they will use healthy coping mechanisms during stressful situations without any practice. This is False. In order to properly apply meditation when you feel pressured, you must practice it often. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you will remember to breathe in chaos if you have never trained yourself to breath in a normal, peaceful moment before.

“Yesterday’s the past, Tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”

Bill Keane

Give it a Try

First, settle into a comfortable and stable position in a safe place, preferably quiet- but not everyone is so fortunate.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Pay attention to all five of your senses.

Listen to the sounds around you.

Take notice of how your body feels from head to toe.

As you breathe notice what you smell.

Can you taste anything? What does your tongue feel like against the roof of your mouth? Relax your jaw.

Open your eyes and notice your surroundings. Without any judgment, try your best to be thankful for what you see.

Continue to focus on your breathing. Deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Sometimes I visualize exhaling negativity or stress.

Try not to think about anything outside of what is happening right now, in this moment.

Keep Practicing

When you catch your mind wandering, gently bring your attention back to the present moment. You can count your breaths in and out to help your mind focus on the present. It is important that you are gracious and gentle with yourself. This practice is hard and takes time to learn. Be patient. When you have a wandering thought, acknowledge it and then let it go as you replace the thought with your breathing, the sounds and smells around you, the physical feelings in and on your body.

Photo: Mike Dawsy

Taking Ownership

“Okay, I admit it. I am stressed out.”

In Beijing I had to admit to myself that I was feeling nerves, and attack them at their source.  It is important to acknowledge your emotional feelings to practice the present moment. If you are in denial about your feelings, it will come out in a negative way- eventually. For example, in the lead up to the Olympics I repeatedly denied that I was stressed out until it manifested itself in a bad case of shingles on my face in September, 2021. I finally had to face the fact that I was overwhelmed and make some changes in my life and mental strategy.

Acceptance

Emotions have a lot less power over you when you acknowledge them. It is natural to want to hide strong emotions or feelings. Sometimes I catch myself hiding feelings from myself, because I judge that particular thought or feeling as negative. But when I acknowledge the way I am feeling, the path forward always seems more clear. Shine a light on those feelings and you might find that they are less ugly than you thought.

“What is the root cause of my anxiety?”

Subconsciously we all allow outside influences to impact our thoughts at times. They are not harmful until we internalize them and take ownership of them. This typically manifests itself through warning signs such as: a sustained elevated heart rate, restlessness or inability to stand still, brain fog, auxiliary muscle tension (clenched jaw, fists, furrowed brow). As soon as you recognize these warning signs you can begin your meditation practice and then proceed to interview yourself.

 Mental Strength Success
The power of success is found in your mental strength.

Interview yourself

During Qualifiers, I discovered a relapse to an old way of thinking. I had fallen into the old habit of telling myself “I have to land these runs or four years of preparation will be a waste.” Instead, I reflected on the journey to get to this moment. Reminding myself that the story I was a part of was a beautiful thing whether I landed a run or not gave me the confidence I needed to let the tension go. I took ownership of what I had control over and I let go of the rest. By the time I dropped in for my first run the pressure had faded and I was in the flow state. I finished the day in fourth place, which is all I needed on that day. I made it through to finals.

Share your success with others
Celebrate More

Very Bear and The Butterfly

Very Bear and the Butterfly

David Wise, father of 6-year old Nayeli Grace and 3-year old Malachi, Gold Medal Olympic Freeskier, and now author of his first children’s book. David loves telling his children, “Daddy Stories” created from his life and experiences. In Very Bear and The Butterfly, David shares important lessons about character and the relationships in our lives that bring meaning and joy.

This story is a metaphorical retelling of how David met his wife, Alexandra during what he calls the “worst winter of my life,” when sidelined with a knee injury. As seen in this touching story, he believes this time became the best winter of his life because “a beautiful soul took the time to teach me a new and priceless perspective”.

Includes:
Children’s Illustrated Book – Very Bear and The Butterfly – David Wise

My Road to PyeongChang

David Wise Monster Energy

Last week in Snowmass, Colorado, I reached the first finish line of a massive season by winning my second U.S. Olympic Team qualifying event. Having two wins under my belt ensures my spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for PyeongChang, South Korea this February. To say that the competition for spots on the Olympic Team was fierce would be an understatement. The U.S. Freeskiing Team for halfpipe right now is the strongest it has ever been. This is possibly the toughest battle for Olympic Team Spots in U.S. Ski Team history. The United States currently has at least 6 of the best halfpipe skiers in the world. The Olympic Winter Games is limited to four spots or less per country per event. That means that the two guys on the outside looking in, the fifth and sixth place Americans are skiers with enough skill to potentially win the Olympics, and they’ll be home watching from the couch. In many Olympic sports the members of the team are pretty apparent well in advance, but this weekend in Mammoth is the last event and I can honestly say that the remaining spots are still up in the air. Now you can understand my incredible sense of relief at having that spot locked up.

David Wise - my road to PyeongChang

As I said in the beginning, I feel like I’ve reached a major finish line. I’m not easing off the gas by any means. The Olympics is the long-term goal. However, the easing of pressure is palpable. I am stoked to be going back to the Olympic Games and feel honored to represent everyone who has believed in me along the way. There has been a lot more to this particular journey than most people realize.

I am coming off the worst two seasons of my competitive career. At least that is how it looks on paper. My last victory before this season in Copper was at the Winter Dew Tour in the winter of 2014/ 2015. A lot of things played into my lack of success in the past couple years: I had an injured shoulder and back, three separate concussions, my wife lost her father, my sister Christy was in a boating accident and lost her leg, I had a dear student of mine commit suicide. Not to mention my wife and I had our second child, Malachi, shortly after the Olympics in Sochi. Alexandra was actually pregnant and experiencing brutal morning sickness while she was watching me compete in Sochi, but we weren’t telling anybody yet so she really had to get through that process alone while I was doing the insane media tour. After Alexandra gave birth to Malachi, she went through a hard year of postpartum depression – something more common than most people realize. We had to find out that having two kids was far more challenging to handle with my new post-Olympic traveling schedule than we had expected. There were moments when we were not sure we were going to make it.

       

      

During the 2014 season leading up to the Olympics in Sochi, my wife and daughter traveled everywhere with me. It was a great way for me to feel like I was part of their life while still doing my job. But traveling with two kids is a lot harder than traveling with one. Plus, we went through an entire year where at least one kid at a time was sick. Neither my wife nor I were sleeping at night and then I would go out and try to ski the same as always as if nothing had changed. During one trip when I traveled without the family, Malachi had a fever spike and went into what we now know was a febrile seizure. At the time I was in Oslo, Norway and got a phone call from my wife who thought our son was dying, or dead. Let’s just say this was a lot to take on at once and my skiing performance suffered.

David Wise - my road to PyeongChang 

The people around me had some interesting reactions to my supposed “fall from glory;” a lot of them weren’t positive. Over the last two years I’ve experienced a lot of adversity, but one I was not expecting was the complete restructuring of my sponsors. I’m thankful to everyone that stood by me, especially my sponsors – Monster, Visa and Lululemon Men. Sponsors that I never expected to be petty and shortsighted, some of whom I have partnered with for more than 10 years decided it was time to cut me loose. One company even went to the length of making up bogus “contract violations” in order to have an excuse to terminate my contract instead of carrying it through the Olympics like the contract stated. I’ve been asked countless times if I was going to retire (not anytime soon, guys!). I’ve had people tell me that I had a good run and that they were surprised it lasted as long as it did. I’ve certainly had some people dancing on my contest career’s supposed grave and celebrating my downfall. Never the less, I’ve also experienced unconditional love and support from a select few that made all the weapons of my enemies turn to ash.

  David Wise - my road to PyeongChang

The problem is the haters forgot who I am. Or, perhaps, more accurately they never bothered to figure out who I was in the first place. I have to admit I am to blame too. I am not naturally a transparent person. I don’t tell people when I am struggling, and I don’t often share the burden. During the tough times these past years I didn’t reach out and let people know how hard of a time I was having outside of skiing. I just kept my head down and kept fighting. That is what the naysayers and critics fail to realize. I am a fighter, and fighters do their best work in adverse conditions. Nothing has been better for my long-term ski career than having two years of struggles. I have learned to be thankful for my multiple injuries that left my career in question to the world. I am thankful for my sister’s loss that enabled her to live with a purpose that is bigger than herself. I am thankful for the death that brought so much life and healing to my wife. She has become a true proverbs 31 woman through her own trials, I couldn’t be prouder of who she is now because of it, and where it has brought our marriage and family. I am thankful for my two most prized possessions that I can never take credit for: my honor and glory, Nayeli and Malachi, who have made me the man I am today. I am thankful for the buildup of all the tragedy that prepared me for what was to come – and taught me how to consider all things as an opportunity for great joy.

So today, I am able to write this with complete peace in my spirit, I am thankful for the sponsors that dropped me and the shortsighted people that counted me out. You guys are responsible in a major way for reigniting the furnace in my heart and I have never felt as passionate and excited about skiing and competing as I do right now. Those dropped sponsorships have opened the door to some of the best partnerships of my career, and taught me how to cherish what I have instead of focusing on what I don’t. I’m back in full-force and I’ve never been more grateful for the things that I have, instead of being caught in a vicious cycle of always wanting more. I appreciate the opportunity to represent my country, my hometown and MY people in the Olympics this year more than I knew I was capable of. I also know that all of this is temporary, and that is ok. Everything that I have is a gift from God, and He can take it away when He wants to. I am surrounded by people who truly love and support me for who I am, not what I do on a pair of skis and not for any level of success I could attain.

  David Wise - my road to PyeongChang

These past two years have done a great job of showing me the truly loyal people and I will cherish them. I’m also dedicated to not hating the fickle people, but instead finding hope in forgiveness and my renewed passion for repentance. I have been guilty of plenty of shortsightedness in my life, so I can forgive the ski industry for being shortsighted with me. After all, Jesus forgave the same men that nailed him to a cross, and his example is the one I most desire to follow. There are two ways to react to adversity in life. One way is to feel slighted and to allow yourself to be bitter. The other is to use the adversity to your advantage and gain strength and momentum from it. I choose the latter. Join me on my journey to PyeongChang and, as always, thank you for the support!