Success, Failure and the Artist’s Mindset: Lessons from the Winter Olympics

One snowboarder wins gold. Another falls. What does that say about mindset, failure and pursuing an art career with no guarantees?

I love watching the Olympic Games. When they’re on, I devote most of my free time to sports I never follow week to week. Right now I’m fully in Winter Olympics mode — it might even be my favourite over the more popular Summer Games because of the sheer variety and madness of the sports. Dangerous activities. On ice!

Recent finals going one way for some athletes and another way for others got me thinking about something deeper: how I, as an artist, will approach my career — and what happens when mental preparation simply isn’t enough.

The Women’s Snowboarding Halfpipe Final: Success and Failure on the Edge

At the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, the Women’s Snowboarding Halfpipe Final unfolds.

A US athlete stands at the top of the pipe preparing for her third and final run. She mentally rehearses every move, twisting her torso and muttering to herself. Then she goes quiet. Puts her hand to her heart. She whispers to herself: “You can do this.”

You can see she’s practised this thousands of times — in real life and in her head. She’s visualised. Strategised. Prayed. She’s already attempted her ambitious run twice and fallen. This is now or never.

The commentators insist she has the most impressive trick of all the finalists. If she lands it, gold is surely hers.

Deep breath. She sets off.

She falls again.

“Disaster!” the commentators lament. “The only thing standing in her way was her mind.”

Wrong. Unfair. I’ll get to that.

Soon after, a young South Korean athlete prepares for her third and final run. Her first run was a terrible crash — she lay face down at the bottom of the pipe for what felt like an age before the medical team helped her up. Her second run, perhaps because she was shaken and injured, didn’t improve her score.

So, she, too, has everything to prove.

She takes a breath. Sets off.

Nails it. Perfect. Highest score. Gold medal.

One athlete triumphs. One “fails.”

Both have trained for years. Both have endured injuries, setbacks and defeat. Both prepared mentally for each run.

And yet — only one stands on the podium.

So, was it really “just mindset”?

Is it just ‘Mindset’ that’s the Key to Success?

I absolutely believe mindset matters. A healthy mindset is foundational to achieving anything — whether in sport, business or an art career.

But perhaps what this final shows is something more nuanced.

Success is not only about mental strength or positive thinking. It’s also about how you handle setbacks. How you frame failure. How you redefine success when outcomes don’t go your way.

Sometimes things don’t work out for reasons we can’t clearly identify. We don’t know why the snowboarding gods smiled on one athlete that day and not the other.

Perhaps there are subconscious beliefs at play. Perhaps there’s self-sabotage. Perhaps it’s strategy — maybe one routine carried more risk. Or perhaps it simply comes down to chance.

There comes a point where it’s no longer helpful to say, “The only thing in your way is your mind.”

That line can become cruel.

It’s similar to using the “battle” metaphor for cancer. Framing illness as a fight can sometimes be empowering — until someone “loses.” Did they not fight hard enough?

Sometimes failure isn’t a mindset problem. Sometimes it’s risk. Timing. Probability.

Sometimes it’s just life.

Redefining Success Beyond Outcome

The US snowboarder chose to attempt an extremely difficult move. She could have toned it down. Played safe. Increased her chances of landing cleanly.

But she didn’t.

She went big.

Maybe that matters more than the medal.

She risked everything to show what she was capable of on the biggest stage in the world. She pursued excellence over safety. It didn’t pay off that day — but she’ll know she gave everything.

And perhaps that is a form of success.

In pursuing an art career, I‘m working on feeling the same.

If I never make a penny from my art, I can’t pretend I won’t be disappointed. Of course I will. Financial success matters — practically and emotionally.

But I will also know that I tried.

I’ll know that I honed a talent. That I developed potential. That I gave my full effort. That I took creative risks instead of playing safe.

Like the snowboarder, I’ll know I stepped up to the edge and went for it.

Let the chips fall where they may.

If there were an ‘Illustration Olympics’ it’s doubtful I’d win - but I’m having fun, and taking creative risks :)

Success Markers: Redefining What “Making It” Means

Success can’t only be economic. It can’t only be public recognition.

For artists — and for anyone pursuing something uncertain — success might also look like:

• Staying true to your creative voice

• Taking meaningful risks

• Growing in skill and confidence

• Persisting through rejection

• Living aligned with your values

• Finishing the work

• Showing up consistently

Mindset matters.

But it isn’t everything.

Sometimes you nail the run. Sometimes you fall.

Either way, you stepped up to the pipe.

And that, in itself, counts.