Bubka's Secret to Success

Sergey Bubka, the world-renowned Olympic pole vault champion, earned the title Czar of Pole Vault. He set an astonishing 35 world records in pole vaulting, and the two records he held stood unbroken for years.

Image Source

At the award ceremony for the National Medal of Honor, reporters eagerly asked him, “What’s the secret to your success?”

Bubka smiled and replied, “It’s very simple. Before every jump, I first let my mind ‘leap’ over the bar.”

As a pole vaulter, there was a period when, no matter how hard Bubka tried to reach new heights, he failed again and again. He felt frustrated, disheartened, and even began to doubt his own potential.

One day, at the training field, he shook his head and said to his coach, “I just can’t get over it.”

His coach asked, “What are you thinking when you jump?”

Bubka answered, “As soon as I step onto the runway and see how high the bar is, I get scared.”

Staring at him, the coach suddenly shouted, “Bubka! What you need to do right now is close your eyes and let your mind jump over the bar first.”

The coach’s words woke Bubka up like a bolt of lightning. He followed the advice and vaulted again. This time, he cleared the bar.

The coach smiled with satisfaction and said earnestly, “Remember: If your mind can get over the bar first, your body will follow.”

(Source: Harvard Family Education)

Commentary

Anything worthwhile in life is a challenge, and nothing meaningful or gratifying comes easily. That’s because the challenge contributes to the sense of accomplishment afterwards.

If we want to overcome any challenge, the first requirement is that we believe we can do it. It isn’t the only requirement, but it is one of the most important. If we don’t even believe we can do it, we won’t give our best effort, which then reduces our likelihood of success. We also wouldn’t persevere in the face of difficulty, and we might give up just before we could make a breakthrough. That would be a shame and a waste.

Moreover, confidence allows us to remain calm, which then allows us to perform at our natural ability. On the contrary, doubt makes us nervous, causing us to perform worse than we should. That was the case for Bubka.

When we lack confidence in ourselves, we can use visualization: we can visualize ourselves being competent and accomplishing our desired goal. Why does this work?

Because the difference between confidence and doubt is just a thought, and our way of thinking is a habit. Habits are mostly unconscious, kind of like our posture, so if we want to change a habit, we need to consciously go through many, many repetitions. Visualization is precisely that.

For example, when I have conflict with someone and I notice that my emotions are disturbed, I try to leave the situation and communicate at a later time when my emotions are more stable. During the time in between, I sometimes visualize myself doing the behavior I hope to do, such as calmly and patiently listening to them first, and then explaining myself in a calm manner. If I can’t even visualize myself doing this, then chances are my emotions are still too disturbed, so I shouldn’t communicate with them yet.

To give another example, if I have an upcoming interview that I’m nervous about, I visualize myself about to start the interview, and I try to feel nervous in the visualization. This is mirroring the real interview situation as much as possible. Then I practice calming myself down through some deep breaths and affirmations. If I can do it in the visualization, I’ll be much more likely to be able to do it in the real interview.

Conclusion

Faith in ourselves is the foundation for success, and visualization can be a powerful tool. The best part? They’re both freely accessible to each and every one of us.

---

Weekly Wisdom #347