How to Work Like Alysa Liu (and Not Get Fired Like Her Dad)
Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty
There are two profound insights in Alysa Liu’s story that I’ve been trying to channel into my own work life – and I think can help many of us non-Olympians.
The first is about control.
The second is about joy.
Liu famously quit skating due to burnout. She’d achieved top honors on the ice, but the price was heavy. Her “bosses,” in particular her father, controlled her every move.
"Don’t eat that," she recalled. "You can’t drink water even, because of water weight. Imagine telling a 13-year-old that they can’t drink water because of water weight!" (Elle magazine)
So at age 16, she quit skating and went about the business of just being a person. It was a “take this job and shove it” moment that folks with overbearing bosses dream of.
What’s really interesting is the moment of epiphany that put her back on the ice.
As is often the case with epiphanies – about career or anything else – it started with a physical sensation. A couple of years into her retirement, Liu happened to go skiing – and felt a rush in her body that she remembered and loved from the rink. So she strapped on her skates and, back on the ice, immediately felt the joy and adrenaline she’d always loved.
That was the beginning of a comeback that ended in two gold medals at the Milan Olympics – a comeback that sparked a tsunami of fandom. What set Liu apart wasn’t just her athletic prowess. It was the joyful, free-flowing grace of a person who was working on her own terms: choosing her own music, funky styling, diet, and practice schedule. Working for the love of it, instead of from obligation.
At age 20, Liu was her own boss.
We can’t all be our own bosses. Still, for anyone who’s hitting a wall at work, here are the two concrete ways Liu’s example can inspire greater success:
Remember what you love about your job and why you chose it in the first place. It can help to ground in remembered physical sensations: the rush that comes from making a great presentation, the feeling of triumph from mastering a new skill, or even the quiet feeling of satisfaction when everything just works.
-> I find that grounding in physical sensation is more powerful than in-your-head tools like thinking and self talk.
Good managers give their charges enough space to feel ownership of, and pride in, their work.
-> Otherwise the managers risk getting banned from the rink like Alysa’s dad.
