I have to write more about the Olympics.

I know I wrote a little about the Olympics before, but I have to write about them again. They are taking over my life, and in a good way. Each night I come home from work and eagerly anticipate watching what we DVR'd that day. I am so enthralled by the music, the colors, the people... it's great television. Great stories. Great inspiration. The problem is that I can't seem to watch more than an hour or so before falling asleep. This is putting me way behind schedule. For example, last night I tried to finish watching Wednesday night's prime-time coverage (Wednesday night I got through the men's snowboarding qualifying round and a wee bit of speed skating, but then promptly fell asleep). Last night I got through a little more of Wednesday night's speed skating and some of the women's alpine event, but then fell asleep again before I could finish with the men's snowboarding event. Which means tonight I'm on tap to finally finish Wednesday's events, get through Thursday's, and then maybe start on today's events. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm aiming to finish Wednesday's events and start what we recorded on Thursday. I have to be realistic.

Being realistic is not really in the Olympic spirit, though. I mean, take a look at Shaun White. (This photo is from Shaun White's website, so not taken by me and probably not legal to re-post, but I'm taking a risk out of my great enthusiasm for the games.) Shaun White, at 23, snowboards for a living. He has a compound in Colorado where he and his trainers and team (his own team of people!) spend their time inventing and practicing new and exciting moves. When he displays these new moves, everyone wants to be like him and they try the moves out for themselves. And when Shaun has already clinched the gold medal, again, for the second time in the halfpipe, he still goes out and displays his new and crazy good moves even though he doesn't have to. Because why not? If you're going to get out there and do it, you might as well go all the way. That's the Olympic spirit. If Shaun White were "being realistic," do you think he'd have a compound where he could invent new snowboarding phenomenon? And do you think he'd still bring it to the competition even when there really is no more competition?

This is why I love the Olympics. The games remind me that I limit myself each and every day. Olympians do not limit themselves. They have a goal and they go for it, as Doug said last night, balls to the wall. So how come the rest of us don't go for it balls to the wall? Some people do, but not in sports. Some people pursue their job with great passion, some people pursue their outside interests/hobbies with great passion, but few really commit to one thing the way Olympians do. Is there a gene for that kind of commitment? Is there a way to develop that kind of determined, goal-oriented living even when you're past your Olympic prime? The answer is yes, or course, because the Olympians are doing nothing special. Just going after what they want, what they believe, and what they love, and that's certainly something everyone can do each and every day. Thank you, again, Olympics, because every couple of years you help me get back on track, and I cannot wait to see you up close and personal in Rio in 2016 (slight revision in location, but same determined desire to get there).