Participation medals used to baffle me. Why should someone get rewarded for simply turning up to an event? There must be easier ways to monitor event attendance and it goes against the very nature of competition. In my years as a student athlete I worked hard to win all of my medals. Well, technically, all but one.

The first medal I ever received was for simply showing up. The medal was meritless, but the experience exemplified the importance of showing up in becoming successful. And I would argue that it was on that day that I started to become a successful student athlete.

When does someone become successful?

The Cambridge dictionary gives two definitions of success:

1. “The achieving of the results wanted or hoped for.”
2. “Something that achieves good results.”

Definition 1 is often attributed to success; the point at which a goal or desire is reached. However, I’d argue that this point is not where a person becomes successful, but rather a landmark which provides evidence of their success.

For example, does a runner only become successful when they finish a major race in a podium position? In the eyes of the public, maybe. But they were only able to win the race because of the months/years of training, the maintenance of a good diet and many other small habits. Similarly, a student graduating with a 1^st class degree didn’t become successful the day they collected their diploma. It was a cumulation of years of hard work.

This leads us on to the second definition provided; success is ‘something that achieves good results.’

What is this ‘something’?

There are many words to describe the ‘something’ that results in success: good habits, training, routines etc. But essentially it all comes down to showing up. Showing up consistently, day in day out, and committing to the process.

Success is remaining faithful to the right process

Generally, people like to focus on defining moments, the big wins and awards, and brush over the small incremental improvements that were made each day in order to get there. It’s the processes that consistently compound marginal gains over a large frame of time that make people successful. They lead to growth and eventually the achievement of goals. Understanding this is why people like James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) strongly advocate for the development of good daily habits and routines.

Showing up consistently (to complete assignments, go to the gym, practise sketching, reading books etc.) guides your trajectory. Over time, when a critical threshold is reached, this leads to the breakthrough that the world uses to define you as successful. Hence, there is a lot of power in showing up.

The day I received my first medal, I knew the award was meaningless. But I also knew the reason I got it was because I showed up to the competition. In order to get more medals (preferably ones that I actually earned) I needed to show up to more competitions. The only way I could do that was by showing up consistently to training and practising so I could be picked for more teams. I hoped that, by staying faithful to this, I would be rewarded in victory and an actual gold medal. Eventually, that’s exactly what happened.

Maybe participation awards aren’t entirely useless. Who would have thought?