"When we look more closely at what happens under extreme pressure to deliver while negotiating a range of public opinion, a different story unfolds. A story that has less to do with grit and courage and more to do with how the nervous system adaptively organizes under those conditions. This is a story about why such adaptive shifts cannot be willed into compliance through intensity or forced into performance through determination."
"So much was happening inside Lindsey's body before she ever left the starting gate. Whether she, or anyone around her, could recognize and respect those signals mattered more than her commitment or character could overcome. Her decision to race was not right or wrong. She later reflected that "my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would" and "I have no regrets.""
Physiological state and nervous-system flexibility play decisive roles in high-pressure athletic performance. Pre-existing injury and the stress of public scrutiny constrained bodily adaptations before the run. Adaptive shifts in the nervous system organize responses under extreme pressure, and those shifts cannot be overridden by willpower, intensity, or character. External praise framing the effort as courage or indefatigable grit overlooks internal regulatory limits that affect motor control and safety. Recognizing and respecting internal physiological signals before competition matters more for outcome and risk management than sheer determination. Decisions to compete reflect personal values and are not simply right or wrong.
Read at Psychology Today
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