I got into the sport of triathlon because I needed to prove something to myself. I needed to prove inner strength and needed to revive my belief in dreams. Before two years ago I hated biking and I never dreamed that I could run farther than a 5k, moreover, I rarely ran more than 1 mile at a time, using the cop-out that I am a swimmer, meant for the pool and not for land sports.
Some extreme circumstantial trials of life thrust me into running and biking two years ago, not out of pleasure, but out of necessity for stress-relief and some much needed soul-searching. Before I knew it, I loved both disciplines; I loved them because I loved the self-discovery I experienced along the way. A little self-believe can go a long way, and before I knew it, I actually believed that I could be an IRONMAN.
Triathlon has changed me. It has brought me to life in ways I never dreamed possible, and more importantly, it has brought me through the thresholds of accomplishing things with my body that I never believed I could do. Accomplishing the perceived impossible is life and mind changing; it a type of growth so beautifully stunning that it alludes many. Mitch Thrower, 20x Ironman triathlete, describes the sport’s addictive nature by saying that it’s “universal allure stems from the beauty within that worked to achieve the beauty without, and the awe-inspiring human form in motion can achieve breathtaking things.” I couldn’t agree more with Mitch and the beautiful way he described this inside-out transformation.
My point is, let life change you. Be what you want to be and choose to grow in positivity every day. Every day we have the opportunity to refine ourselves as human beings, to create ourselves into what we want to be, and to achieve anything we open our minds to.
You can be and do anything you want. Like the llamas in the above picture, the only thing holding you back from being uniquely you, or uniquely your own superhero form of yourself, is lack of self-belief. Dream. Believe. Achieve.