With the Olympics getting underway, maybe you’ve tuned in to watch some amazing athletic feats from afar. If so, you’ll likely hear about the long, grueling training that Olympians go through, strengthening their bodies and practicing their sports for years or even decades.

Sport scientist Gabriele Wulf has researched a surprising way these competitors might gain an edge, and it has nothing to do with extra reps at the gym. Instead, it’s about what they choose to focus on. She’s found that if athletes are able to stop consciously thinking about what their bodies are doing – focusing instead on an external goal – they’ll do better. Instead of concentrating on their muscles producing force on an oar, for instance, they think about water being pulled back. And while an Olympic performance is not in the cards for many of us, the advantage of switching from an internal to an external focus can be harnessed by anyone in everyday life.

This week we also liked articles about what happens to children who migrate to the U.S. by themselves, why you might get cybersickness from staring at screens and white people taking credit for dance steps first created by people of color.