You know the photo. The media loves that photo. Standing at the starting line, an Olympic athlete is about to vault, run or dive. She appears determined, focused and at the peak of her strength. Ever stop to wonder about the source of that strength and determination?
In their latest Thank You, Mom video, Procter & Gamble reminds us that it takes someone strong to make someone strong. That a lifetime of lessons learned from their mothers has helped to fuel the world’s greatest athletes.
Moms teach strength by valuing their children’s dreams ... and letting them go to pursue them. “Letting her leave home at 14 to train was one of the hardest decisions of my life,” says Natalie Hawkins, mom of Gold Medalist and P&G athlete Gabby Douglas. “You just have to trust that everything you’ve poured into them has given them the ability to evaluate risks, make good decisions and go accomplish their dreams.”
They teach that setbacks are part of every journey and every goal. “Now that I’m a mom, I realize how hard some of what my mom went through must have been,” says Olympic Gold Medalist, new mom and P&G Pampers athlete, Dana Vollmar.
They teach confidence and fearlessness by example. “My mom laid a lot of the foundation for my success,” says Ashton Eaton, an Olympic gold medalist, world record-holding decathlete and P&G Gillette athlete.
“What I wanted most for Ashton was for him to be confident and fearless, and I felt that my role was to help shield him from the things that would block his path,” explains his mom Roslyn Eaton. Mission accomplished.
With less than 100 days until the Rio Olympics, we join Procter & Gamble in wishing all of our Olympic athletes success and in honoring the moms who helped instill in them the strength to succeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ3k6BFX2uw
