Growing up, I was involved in an array of different sports. I played basketball, volleyball, soccer, and tennis for my school and during the summer, I swam for my local swim team. Of all of the sports that I have tried, gymnastics is hands-down (get it?) the most difficult and demanding sport. I did not know fear until I was told to front-handspring onto a vault, invert into a handstand, and dismount without killing myself (I failed miserably by the way and never tried vault again). No activity had ever required so much mental strength and confidence. I remember my coach telling me “You just need to lie to yourself and pretend you can do it, and then you’ll do it!” Yeah right! No thank you! But that’s what it takes. And that’s why when I heard Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast of all time last week at the world championships, I knew I had to write about her.
Simone and her sister, Adria, were bounced around foster homes in Columbus, Ohio during their early years because their birth mother was struggling with substance abuse. Upon learning this, her grandfather, Ron, and his wife, Nellie, adopted the girls and they moved to Spring, Texas. Simone refers to Nellie as “mom” and her grandparents become her main supporters into her athletic career. Simone relies on the support that she gets from her family as well as her coaches and team to perform at the level that she does. In an interview with Today, she explains that some of her signature moves are really a team collaboration.
In addition to falling in love with her sport, Simone Biles also was extrinsically motivated early on. After making history and becoming the first African-American gymnast to win gold in the World Championships all-around in 2013, she said "I think it inspires a lot of the little girls out there to go in[to] the gym and train harder." Although Baer et. al note in their “Rewarding creativity: when does it really matter?” article that extrinsic motivations hinder creativity, Simone used the momentum from her growing fame and influence as a springboard to dive deeper into her craft. At the 2013 world championships, Biles performed a “Double laid out salto backwards with ½ twist”, a move that she and her coach and team created, named after Biles herself. She has three other eponymous skills (moves created and named after her). At her caliber of skill, her greatest rival is herself; therefore she is intrinsically motivated to create more moves, push her abilities, and expand gymnastics with her legacy.
Simone Biles only touched on her creative process with her interview with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. They ask her if she is constantly thinking and creating new moves in her mind. She responded saying that the moves she creates is really a collaboration with her coaches. Given the present timeline, Biles is currently occupied with preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in summer 2020, so her focus is concentrated on perfecting the moves she has currently. Csikszentmihalyi discussed in chapter about personality the significance of a “paradoxical trait” balancing “playfulness and discipline”. Simone Biles expresses both playfulness and discipline by daring to create new moves as well as having the skills available to expand upon.
Simone’s craft is similar to the Z-boys studied in class; there’s nowhere else to go but up. Being at the top grants her the opportunity to push the sport in her direction, showing the world what she’s got and savoring every moment of it. In Uzzi and Spiro’s Collaboration and Creativity paper, they say “creativity is not only, as myth tells, the brash work of loners, but also the consequence of a social system of actors that amplify or stifle one another’s creativity.” Though they take on an almost cynical tone of creativity suppression, Biles’ story shows how the work of a nurturing and supportive environment allows her to excel. Biles’ early childhood was unstable, but the move to live with her grandparents was the beginning of her journey on the right path. On a field trip to a gymnastics gym, coaches recognized her talent and her grandparents supported her in pursuing the sport. Today she is the most decorated gymnast yet with 25 medals and she stays hungry for more.
"To go out there and prove what I can do has taught me a lot about who I am."- Simone Biles
I love this post! You've made many connections to the reading, all of which are applicable and well-said. I especially am interested in your discussion of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. I remember watching Simone compete in the Olympics and wondering how she was able to achieve all of that so young. It makes a lot of sense that her motivation would be both internal and external, the two forces coming together to make such a hardworking and creative individual. I also really agree with your point about the duality of "playfulness and hard work" in her performances. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that Simone is extrinsically motivated but I don't think she would have been able to continue to/at this level if she didn't have just a deep love for the sport! She clearly has a lot of intrinsic motivation as well to keep pushing the boundaries. I'm still super salty that the Biles dismount (double double) off beam only got valued as an H skill? Upsetting and rude to her. With that, they are showing that her creativity and ambition is being undervalued and it is not promoting her to keep pushing herself and her skills--a lack of extrinsic motivation in this case!
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ReplyDeleteI think it is really interesting that you picked Simone Biles for your creative. When I think of creative people I do not typically think of an athletic person. I am not sure why because they are definitely creative and Simone is a great example of this. I also like the connection you made between her and the Z-boys.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of athletes as creative individuals, but after reading your blog it makes so much sense! The motivation that drives Simone is the same kind of extrinsic/intrinsic motivation that we've talked about, and seeing new moves that she does named after her really point to how much she is influencing the field of gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteSimone Biles has strong domain-relevant skills that always astound me. Creativity is too often boxed into the arts without considering athletes, scientists, politicians, and many other professions. The drive of both her extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation definitely influences Simone to be the best gymnast our generation can offer. I definitely will be looking for more creative outputs by athletes and other "uncommon" creators.
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