Sweet Disgust
In the book Bounce: Living the Resilient Life author Robert Wicks introduces the concept of “Sweet Disgust.”
Sweet Disgust is the opposite of defeat. It is a harnessing of disappointment and feeling of anger converted into a healthy emotion which spurs motivated action. Sweet Disgust is a determination to fight back. It is better thought of as a hunger to achieve than an anger to achieve.
Low points often becoming turning points. Athletics is a vehicle which teaches people how to respond to failure in a healthy way and use it as the fuel for achievement. The athlete who is driven by Sweet Disgust no longer hopes for the uncontrollables to work to in their favor. Instead, they’ve resolved to take total responsibility for their actions to avenge past adversities by producing future success.
There’s a great story about the 800m runner Nick Symmonds which illustrates the power of Sweet Disgust.
Nick’s low point in his career was the 2012 London Olympics. He finished 5th. David Rudisha set the world record in that race. And while Nick set a personal best, he was beaten by his fellow American Duane Solomon.
After the race Nick was in disbelief. He was fed up with working so hard and missing out on the medals. He decided he’d had enough. Sweet Disgust had set in.
Nick made changes. He devoted that off season into getting in the best overall shape of his career. He changed how he raced, abandoning his signature come-from-behind strategy and deciding to just go for it.
In 2013, at the track and field world championships, the newly adopted early aggressive front running from Nick, “was not something we were used to,” remarked one rival. Nick marched through the rounds. At the bell in the final he shot into the lead and led the charge for the tape. He didn’t know if he could sustain the move, but he was determined not to waste the opportunity. “I knew if I blew up at least I could live with myself for having tried,” he said after the race. His aggression paid off. He almost won gold, but Ethiopian Mohammed Amen nipped him at the line.
Nonetheless, Nick walked away with his first global medal, a silver, with his earlier failures and Sweet Disgust to thank for it.