This podcast
episode features inspiring conversations with Olympians Miss Inga from Lithuania and Inger Stacy Knight, exploring themes of happiness, leadership, spirituality, discipline, and mindset through the lens of elite performance and intentional living. It highlights the alignment of personal purpose with happiness, the transformative power of failure and pain for growth, and the Olympian mindset applied to sustainable leadership and business emphasizing playfulness, creativity, and balance between challenge and recovery. The discussions stress the importance of managing energy, body, mind, and emotions to achieve high performance without burnout, with spirituality serving as a source of inner strength beyond individual limits. Practical habits, mindfulness, team dynamics, and cultural practices such as passing questions between guests support continuous learning and sustaining happiness professionally. The episode concludes with rapid-fire leadership insights rooted in nature, humor, and self-awareness, as well as a personalized song celebrating human essence, creativity, and joy in a technological world. In this inspiring episode of the Happiness Podcast by Amity University’s Centre for Science of Happiness, we journey into the mind and heart of Inga Stacyunionyke, an Olympian javelin thrower turned leadership coach and founder of the Elevating Leadership Institute. Through a rich conversation, Inga shares her unique perspective on happiness, resilience, and intentional leadership—rooted deeply in her elite sports experience and global coaching career. This article distills her wisdom on personal fulfillment, professional well-being, and spiritual growth, offering practical lessons on how to break limits joyfully and sustainably. Background The podcast, hosted by Professor Nitin Arora, is part of a series that delves into the journeys of global leaders with an emphasis on happiness and spirituality. Inga Stacy is introduced as a remarkable figure bridging the worlds of competitive athletics and business leadership. Her experience spans Olympic-level competition, startup leadership, and coaching executives at prestigious organizations like MIT, Oracle, and Harvard Medical School. Her coaching philosophy views business as a competitive sport, emphasizing discipline, precision, and intentionality—the same qualities essential for elite athletic performance. Main Insights 1. Defining Happiness: Purpose and Playfulness Inga defines happiness as getting closer to one’s purpose—specifically, growing by helping others grow. She stresses alignment between daily actions and this deeper purpose as key to sustained fulfillment. Reflecting on her Olympic journey, she highlights that success is not guaranteed by talent alone but requires relentless effort, meaningful reasons beyond medals, and embracing the process, including failures and pain.A memorable example is Indian javelin star Neeraj’s joyful ritual of throwing his arms up after every throw, regardless of the outcome—a powerful lesson in celebrating effort over results. Inga embraces a similar mindset, finding joy in the experimentation and co-creation with her coaches, underscoring the importance of feedback and teamwork. She notes that no great achievement happens in isolation; collaboration and honest feedback ground us in reality and fuel growth.A crucial mindset Inga shares is the value of playfulness and experimentation—especially emerging from a culture of seriousness in Lithuania. She encourages approaching challenges with creativity and lightheartedness, which unlocks energy, resilience, and innovation, much like children building and destroying sandcastles for pure joy. 2. Happiness in High-Performance and Professional Life Balancing happiness with high performance requires discipline and awareness of energy levels. Inga explains how athletes manage stress, preparation, and recovery, emphasizing that knowing one’s physical and emotional state is essential to avoid burnout and injury. She draws a compelling analogy for leaders and professionals: meetings and tasks should be approached with intention, energy management, and clear purpose, with readiness to reschedule or adjust when capacity is low.She highlights four aspects of happiness—body, mind, emotion, and energy—and the interplay between them. Proper nutrition, sleep, mental discipline, and nurturing relationships form the foundation for sustainable performance. Energy acts as the currency that sustains these domains.Inga shares candid stories of failure and recovery, including overcoming injury and mental blocks. She reveals that letting go of rigid control and accepting uncertainty often leads to breakthroughs—“leaving the door open for the unknown” unlocks hidden potential.Within her organization, she fosters happiness and morale through sharing personal hobbies and lessons learned outside work, creating bonds that translate into professional resilience and creativity. 3. Spirituality: Belief in Something Greater For Inga, spirituality is the belief in a higher power or force beyond human understanding that empowers inner growth and expands possibilities. She recounts moments when unexpected disruptions led to new opportunities, reinforcing that surrendering control to the universe can bring unforeseen blessings.Her spiritual practice includes simple yoga and meditation that help her hear her “inner voice,” fostering self-awareness and emotional regulation. She compares this self-listening to being the CEO of one’s own body and mind, managing internal states with kindness and wisdom.Spirituality, for her, is not about dogma but about cultivating a relationship with oneself and the world that enhances confidence and resilience to face unprecedented challenges. 4. Rapid Fire Wisdom and Practical Takeaways In the podcast’s “cool fire” rapid-fire segment, Inga reveals playful and profound nuggets of wisdom: • If her javelin could talk, it would say, “Let’s fly,” symbolizing the unity of purpose and action. • She values playfulness and humor as antidotes to stress and keys to creative energy. • She embraces failure as a door to growth and advises keeping an open mind to possibilities beyond current limits. • She underscores the importance of physical exercise, emotional literacy, and attention training as daily practices for well-being. • Leadership should smell like lavender—calm, confident, and nurturing—not burnout or ambition alone. Conclusion Inga’s journey from Olympian to leadership coach offers a compelling blueprint for breaking limits with joy and purpose. Her insights remind us that happiness is not a fleeting emotion but a disciplined practice rooted in alignment with deeper meaning, playfulness, and authentic connection—with ourselves and others. Whether in sports, business, or daily life, embracing failure, managing energy wisely, and nurturing spirituality create a foundation for sustainable leadership and well-being.Her message resonates in today’s fast-paced world where pressure and distractions are ubiquitous. By learning to work in harmony with our bodies and minds—not against them—and by cultivating a playful yet intentional mindset, we can unlock resilience and creativity to thrive amid challenges.For leaders, professionals, and individuals alike, Inga’s story is a testament to the power of intentional growth, the courage to celebrate effort over outcome, and the wisdom of balancing ambition with self-compassion. As we move forward, may we all strive to “throw life, not just the javelin,” carrying the spirit of joyful perseverance into every arena we enter. Reflection: As you absorb the lessons from this conversation, consider how you can incorporate playful experimentation, intentional energy management, and spiritual openness into your daily routines. Whether you lead a team, build a business, or personal growth, these practices can help you break through limits with courage and joy.