Of course I'm going to write about the men's 4 x 100-meter relay at the Olympics. I saw it Sunday night. It was on everyone's lips on Monday.

It had to be one of the most exciting and emotional sporting events I have ever witnessed.

My 17 year-old and I had a discussion about why it was great. He says it is because the French were expected to win. Destined, some say. And that it didn't look that good for us on paper.  The excitement came in seeing not only the world record smashed by such a large margin, but witnessing the Americans do what others said they couldn't and take the gold medal in a come-from-behind victory.

I say the most exciting thing was the sheer heart that Jason Lezak showed in the anchor leg. It was absolutely astounding. He was pulling so hard he was actually coming up and out of the water in those final strokes. It was incredible to watch. And it gave Phelps the ability to continue in his quest for eight gold medals.  

So for me it was being reminded how much our desire plays into our results. It is easy to go through the motions. Especially when we've been doing this for years. It's easy to take our talent or fitness for granted; to just sort of stop wanting to do better. And frankly, there is definitely a time for that.

But when we make the decision to improve or to compete at a higher level; when we commit to the training required, we always need to plug into the fact that our desire to achieve the goal can directly dictate its outcome.

Having our "head in the game" is really having the focus to execute and the desire to push beyond what we've thought we could do previously. And rather than it really coming from our heads, it is coming directly from our hearts.

And that is what separates the average moment in our sporting lives with the extraordinary moments. When we put our hearts into the process and the event and hit the mark.  

Lezak did that before my eyes the other night. It gave me goosebumps. It was a timely reminder to me that I am blessed to be an athlete and have the direct experience of putting my heart into what I am doing and seeing what I can achieve.