The Olympics have officially concluded. For many, it was the ultimate display of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. For others, it's a way to boast about their country's medal count. If you're curious, here are the final medal standings.
One of the most captivating moments occurred in the men's 100-meter sprint. It made me reflect on how years of preparation can come down to a few thousandths of a second determining the difference between Gold, Silver, and Bronze — or virtual irrelevance.
Last week, Noah Lyles broke a 20-year U.S. drought in the men's 100m final, winning gold with a 9.784 time.
Lyles came into the race ranked No. 1 in the world, but he had to run his fastest time ever to win the Olympic gold medal, and he did so by the slimmest of margins — 0.005 seconds.
In that race, Lyles achieved an average speed of 25.7 mph, and his max speed hit 27.84 mph.
Surprisingly, Lyles didn't lead the race until the final and most important moment. Many thought that Jamaica's Kishane Thompson had the gold ... but advanced technology showed that Lyles surged ahead in the final stretch, edging Thompson out by a split second to claim victory. Here is the photo finish.
via ESPN
It took over half a minute (much longer than the race itself) for the judges to announce the winner - it was that close.
As a tech nerd, what I found most interesting about the win was the camera used to certify the win.
Omega, which has been the official Olympics timekeeper for decades, released a new camera that shoots 40,000 frames per second, aimed directly at the finish line.
It reminded me of the facial recognition technology NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys use to track - theoretically - every person who steps into a stadium. The cameras are so good that when a crime is committed, they can completely track the perpetrator as they travel throughout the stadium. The Cowboys' security office boasts that their camera system surpasses even the ones used by Las Vegas casinos to catch cheaters at the gaming tables. However, it seems like Omega has taken things to a whole new level at the Olympics with its advanced camera technology this year.
Many think the 200m race is Lyles' specialty. His personal best of 19.31 seconds in the 200m is the American record, making him the third fastest in the event.
Unfortunately, Lyles couldn't grasp gold in the 200. He got Bronze instead. However, after the race, he revealed that he ran the race with COVID ... which might explain his drop in performance. Still, it stands as a testament of will to me.
As a side note, while the International Olympic Committee does not pay athletes for winning at the Olympics, many countries do!
via Voronai
While the U.S. isn't near the top of the list - American athletes who get gold bring home $37,500. A silver nets you $22,500, and a bronze nets you $15,000.
Of course, these medals can also lead to other compensation and endorsements - but the payout table was still interesting.
The achievements of athletes like Noah Lyles create national pride and open doors to numerous opportunities and rewards.
Meanwhile, the integration of advanced technology in the Olympics highlights the importance of innovation in sports. As we celebrate these victories, we also look forward to the future advancements that will continue to shape the world of athletics and the world itself.
An Antidote For Anxiety & Scary Times
People seem rattled right now, don’t they?
Wallets have been tight, and fears of a recession have run rampant.
Even though markets and the economy are not the same thing, many voters believe they are. Consequently, in an election year, I suspect the government will push every button and pull every lever to boost the market leading into November.
Speaking of the markets, they have been pretty volatile the last few weeks. They have posted some of their worst days since COVID-19 but some of the best, too.
We find ourselves in a particularly partisan election year, with lots of uncertainty about who is running, what they stand for, and whether they can make a difference – or even do the job.
The situation feels worse because scary geopolitical events (that threaten World War 3) punctuate seemingly endless negative news cycles.
Now, on to the real point ... those things don’t matter and shouldn’t steal your focus. Why? Because that’s the playing field we all have to navigate.
There will be winners and losers. The key distinction lies in whether you choose to focus on opportunities or risk.
So, I thought this would be an excellent time to revisit how to cope with losses and manage your anxieties in “scary times.”
The Anxiety Antidote
During scary times, many people suffer from “I should have ...”, or “if I would have ...”, or “if I could have ...” thoughts.
The problem is that thoughts like those create more stress and distraction.
I’m reminded of a quote.
Negative focus highlights loss, difficulties, past events, missing things, and what you don’t want.
Think of them as an unhealthy reflex that wastes energy, confidence, and time.
All We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself
I often talk about market psychology and human nature. The reason is that markets reflect the collective fear and greed of their participants... people tend to get paralyzed during scary times like these.
But it’s not the economy that makes people feel paralyzed. People feel paralyzed because of their reactions and their beliefs about the economy. Your perception becomes your reality.
A little examination reveals that most fear is based on a “general” trigger rather than a “specific” trigger. In other words, people are afraid of all the things that could happen and are paralyzed by the sheer scope of possibilities. These things don’t even have to be probabilities to scare them.
You gain a competitive advantage as soon as you recognize that it’s not logical. Why? Because as soon as you distinguish that fear as not necessarily true, you can refocus your insights and energy on moving forward. You can act instead of react. You make better decisions when you come from a place of calm instead of fear... so create that calm.
Even a tough environment like this presents you with opportunities if you watch for them ... or even better ... if you create them.
The Scary Times Success Manual
The goal is to move forward and feel better.
Strategic Coach offers ten strategies for transforming negativity and unpredictability into opportunities for growth, progress, and achievement. They call it the “Scary Times Success Manual,” and what follows are some excerpts:
Forget about your difficulties, focus on your progress.
Because of some changes, things may not be as easy as they once were. New difficulties can either defeat you or reveal new strengths. Your body’s muscles always get stronger from working against resistance. The same is true for the “muscles” in your mind, spirit, and character. Treat this period of challenge as a time when you can make your greatest progress as a human being.
Forget about events, focus on your responses.
When things are going well, many people think they are in control of events. That’s why they feel so defeated and depressed when things turn bad. They think they’ve lost some fundamental ability. The most consistently successful people in the world know they can’t control events - but continually work toward greater control over their creative responses to events. Any period when things are uncertain is an excellent time to focus all of your attention and energy on being creatively responsive to all the unpredictable events that lie ahead.
Forget about what’s missing, focus on what’s available.
When things change for the worse, many desirable resources are inevitably missing - including information, knowledge, tools, systems, personnel, and capabilities. These deficiencies can paralyze many people, who believe they can’t make decisions and take action. A strategic response is to take advantage of every resource that is immediately available to achieve as many small results and make as much daily progress as possible. Work with every resource and opportunity, and your confidence will continually grow.
Forget about your complaints, focus on your gratitude.
When times get tough, everyone must make a fundamental decision: complain or be grateful. In an environment where negative sentiment is rampant, the consequences of this decision are much greater. Complaining only attracts negative thoughts and people. Gratitude, on the other hand, creates the opportunity for the best thinking, actions, and results to emerge. Focus on everything you are grateful for, communicate this, and open yourself to the best possible consequences.
Final Thoughts
We can pontificate all day long on the short-term causes of the rises and falls of markets, but I don’t think it does much good. I let the algorithms worry about those. It’s the larger trends we have to be personally aware of.
I sound like a broken record, but volatility is the new normal.
Pair that with all the fear and uncertainty, and you’ve got a recipe for increased volatility and noise. That means that the dynamic range of a move will be wider and happen in a shorter period of time than ever before. You’ll hear me echo this thought over the next few years as the ranges continue to expand and compress. Cycles that used to play out over weeks now take days or hours. The game is still the same; it just takes a slightly different set of skills to recognize where the risks and opportunities are.
Today’s paradigm - both in life and trading - is about noise reduction. It’s about figuring out what moves the needle and focusing only on that.
The crucial distinction is between adding data and adding information. Adding more data does not equal adding more information. In fact, blindly adding data increases your chances of misinformation and spurious correlations.
My final comment is that there’s a difference between investing and trading, and while humans can invest, if you’re “personally” still trying to trade - you’re likely playing a losing game. If you don’t know what your edge is, you don’t have one.
If you’re investing, I’ll advise you to act like a robot. If you removed human fear and greed from your decision-making - what would you do?
Keep calm and carry on.
Posted at 09:21 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Ideas, Market Commentary, Personal Development, Pictures, Religion, Science, Television, Trading, Trading Tools | Permalink | Comments (0)
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