- The Flying Leap — this photo captures it all, exactly as Mr. Miagi advised his pupil, if you know you are good, and that you can fly, then you WILL.
After 90 minutes of mind-numbing, early 90’s cheesy drama, I was struck by the brillance of one of Mr. Miagi’s simple statement to his pupil:
“You know you’re good and that’s what is important.”
How profound. Maybe they did know what they were doing in the 80s and 90s after all. Suddenly, inspired by Miagi, the pace of my feet picked up to the beat of the treadmill, I felt lighter and, at the end of a long run, I felt empowered.
It doesn’t matter what our competitors, our co-workers, or strangers think of us, what matters is that we know ourselves. Today, I challenge you (and myself) to know yourself. Be confident in your strengths and be humble and open about your weaknesses. Stop caring about what others think of you, whether they think you’re cool enough, good enough, sexy enough, fit enough, etc, and just be YOU. The more we live for others, the less we are actually living.
Think Miagi today and remember that the only opinion about yourself that matters is your own!
Mr. Miagi’s Wisdom
Everything happens for a reason. Today, I over-slept to meet with 5:30am running group. I didn’t wake up until 1:00pm today, exhausted from my 50 mile bike, 5k race and night of dancing from yesterday, leaving me to run my assigned 14 mile run solo in the mid-day heat. After a few miles of boredom, I took refuge in my local treadmill, only to find that the only interesting thing on TV was Karate Kid 3. Actually, I wouldn’t have chosen to watch it myself, but there were already two other runners on the treadmills beside me who had taken full control of the remote control, so really, I had no choice. Watch the movie, or watch the white wall in front of me for 10 more miles.
