Nancy Anderson French<\/a>), former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson reveals she had a hard time with that attitude herself. In fact, she was shocked by it.<\/p>\nDuring the individual all-around competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, both Shawn and her friend\/teammate, Nastia Liukin, were expected to be in a tight competition for the gold medal. That\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n
Their scores were close throughout most of the competition in which they had to compete in four categories: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercises. After the balance beam, however, Shawn saw from the scoreboard that it was mathematically impossible for her to beat Nastia. A little dispirited because there had been such an emphasis on her winning gold, Shawn briefly questioned whether she should just give up. She quickly realized that failure \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what giving up would be: failure \u2013 was not an option.<\/p>\n
Recalling the moment, Shawn writes, \u201cI was still determined to give this performance my entire heart and soul, but my motivation had changed. In some strange way, once I knew the gold was out of reach, I was free to go out there and just be me, the natural competitor who nonetheless had stuck with gymnastics since age three for the pure joy of the sport. I would show the world what I could do while having fun doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so she did. Shawn earned the silver medal in the all-around, while Nastia won the gold. For the first time ever, Americans had won the top two spots in this competition. Ever a model of class and dignity, Shawn was genuinely happy for Nastia and also satisfied with her own performance. Until the reporters stepped in.<\/p>\n
Instead of asking how great it felt to win silver, they asked Shawn how it felt to lose. The happy young gymnast was surprised and disheartened. With the negative focus of the questions aimed at her, she admits to fighting to hold back tears. In retrospect, however, that experience became a defining moment. Even though she went on to win a total of three silver medals (in Team, Floor, and All Around) and one gold (in Balance Beam), it was the silver in the all-around that taught her the greatest life lesson.<\/p>\n
During an interview on Christopher Closeup<\/em>, Shawn told me, \u201cI honestly was more proud of my silver medals than the gold or any other for that matter. Going into the all-around competition, it was my event. It\u2019s what I worked my entire life for. And there\u2019s something sad about being given a silver, and having the world think that you aren\u2019t worth the attention. It makes you find the pride for the work and success within yourself. To me, that made me the strongest and most proud person I could have been.\u201d<\/p>\nShawn further explains in her book, \u201cGod created you in His image; that is where your worth comes from\u2026I realized gymnastics was no longer the most important thing to me\u2026I knew that my friends and family loved me, that God was watching over me, and that I had represented my nation well at the Olympics. All in all, I knew that my life was solid and balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n
That perspective came in handy when the teen who had faced levels of adversity throughout her life faced even more, including the discovery that a stalker had planned to kidnap her while she was appearing on the TV series \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d \u2013 and the difficult decision to end her gymnastics career. On a more personal level, she gained a new understanding of demonstrating grace through times of struggle by watching her friend\u2019s sister deal with chemotherapy for cancer.<\/p>\n
Shawn told me, \u201cSeeing her go through that while tending to four beautiful kids and not once complain\u2014all the effort, drama and stress I was putting on winning a gold medal or getting to practice, it made it seem completely irrelevant and unnecessary. It\u2019s family and faith and health that means the most. I feel like we don\u2019t put enough attention on that. It was a great reality check for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever seen Shawn Johnson on TV, you know that she\u2019s a talented young woman with a bright smile and a contagious sense of joy. Through reading \u201cWinning Balance\u201d and talking to her personally, I now know that joy is grounded in a love of God and family, and a determination to do her best as she travels down whatever road God puts her on next. In short, those are qualities that make Shawn a true winner. The athletes in this year\u2019s Olympics should keep her example and wisdom in mind.<\/p>\n
To listen to my full interview with Shawn Johnson, click on the podcast link:
\nChristopher Closeup Podcast \u2013 Guests: 1) Shawn Johnson, 2) Scott Wiley (The Lower Lights)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers \u2013 as if being the second best athlete in your field in THE ENTIRE WORLD is somehow something to hang your head about. In her engaging and enjoyable new memoir \u201cWinning Balance\u201d (co-written with Nancy Anderson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":488,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,53,1],"tags":[118,121],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christopher-closeup","category-sports","category-uncategorized","tag-christopher-closeup","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christopher Closeup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-31T13:08:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-27T15:15:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/christophers\/files\/2012\/07\/ShawnJohnsonBook-300x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Rossi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tony Rossi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/\",\"name\":\"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-31T13:08:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-27T15:15:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d\"},\"description\":\"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God’s Eyes vs. the World’s Eyes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/\",\"name\":\"Christopher Closeup\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d\",\"name\":\"Tony Rossi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tony Rossi\"},\"description\":\"After graduating from St. John's University in New York with degrees in Communications and English, Tony Rossi found a job at the Catholic media organization, The Christophers, that allowed him to indulge his interest in religion, media, and pop culture. He served as The Christophers' TV producer for 11 years, and is currently the host and producer of the organization's radio show\/podcast Christopher Closeup, writer and editor of their syndicated Light One Candle column, and producer\/scriptwriter of the annual Christopher Awards ceremony.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/author\/tonyrossi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes","description":"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes","og_description":"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/","og_site_name":"Christopher Closeup","article_published_time":"2012-07-31T13:08:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-27T15:15:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/christophers\/files\/2012\/07\/ShawnJohnsonBook-300x300.jpg"}],"author":"Tony Rossi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tony Rossi","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/","name":"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God's Eyes vs. the World's Eyes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-07-31T13:08:08+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-27T15:15:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d"},"description":"One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers - as if being the second best athlete in","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/2012\/07\/former-olympic-gymnast-shawn-johnson-on-being-a-winner-in-gods-eyes-vs-the-worlds-eyes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Former Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson on Being a Winner in God’s Eyes vs. the World’s Eyes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/","name":"Christopher Closeup","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/9215d33862959dfe2334a97a802ebf1d","name":"Tony Rossi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef58b23d79989facf5779819377620d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tony Rossi"},"description":"After graduating from St. John's University in New York with degrees in Communications and English, Tony Rossi found a job at the Catholic media organization, The Christophers, that allowed him to indulge his interest in religion, media, and pop culture. He served as The Christophers' TV producer for 11 years, and is currently the host and producer of the organization's radio show\/podcast Christopher Closeup, writer and editor of their syndicated Light One Candle column, and producer\/scriptwriter of the annual Christopher Awards ceremony.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/author\/tonyrossi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christophers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/121\/2012\/07\/ShawnJohnsonBook.jpg\" "\\"ShawnJohnsonBook\\"")
<\/a>One of the most aggravating aspects of the Olympics to me is when reporters treat silver medalists like losers \u2013 as if being the second best athlete in your field in THE ENTIRE WORLD is somehow something to hang your head about. In her engaging and enjoyable new memoir \u201cWinning Balance<\/a>\u201d (co-written with Nancy Anderson French<\/a>), former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson reveals she had a hard time with that attitude herself. In fact, she was shocked by it.<\/p>\n