You don’t get brownie points in life or sport for being a martyr, and it takes great wisdom to know when you are being one and when you aren’t. No thanks to my own decision making, but to the incredible insight of my coach this weekend, I learned this valuable lesson when she helped me decide to pull myself out of finish the run portion of this weekend’s half ironman.
I have never not finished a race and I have never not finished what I started. There are times in life however that we are more triumphant in ourselves by changing course and re-routing our direction than in finishing something that our bodies and minds are telling us not to. Life is too short to be miserable, and my decision this weekend to cut my race short was physically and mentally harder to do than actually gutting through and finishing the race. Technically, although the results say that I did not finish, the real story is that I am finishing a much more important race. My race is an internal race in which I am learning to practice loving what I choose to do at all times.
There is a fine line between being a tough competitor and being a wise competitor. Life is about balance and life is meant to be appreciated, and sometimes, when we find ourselves at moments when we are just off kilter, as I was physically and mentally this weekend, we must stop and find ourselves.
We all have off days, so accept them and be kind to yourself in them. Trust yourself and the messages your body gives you, and, whatever you do, don’t go through life doing the things you are “supposed to” do. Instead, live your life pursuing the things you absolutely love to do, resisting the temptation to live life by simply going through the motions.