I was disappointed the other day listening to a triathlete on a podcast say about his endurance career and Ironman distance racing, “Not to take anything away from the accomplishment and the significance, but it is almost like everyone is doing it. What can I do now to branch out, make a statement, be a little bit bolder?”
From my experience, if you are going to train and take part in a 5k walk, marathon run, Ironman triathlon, channel swim or multi-day adventure race, and if your motivation for showing up is just to be noticed – get used to disappointment and a relatively short career spent struggling for long term motivation.
If you are going to set off into the ocean, down the road or up a mountain in search of your passion and a connection to what makes you feel alive – get used to a lifetime of amazing experiences that will keep you feeling alive with unlimited potential.
Long before I made headlines for swimming across some ocean I was the new guy in town that others saw showing up and swimming every day at the community pool. Eventually one or two others joined in, then a workout group formed and now a whole community of athletes heads out together into the world on foot, on wheels or in the water.
You don’t have to be the first, go the longest or run the fastest to make a difference. JUST SHOW UP! I promise you, people will notice, and you will change lives.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman