Once Inspired

Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category

So it’s been a little longer than usual. I’ve just hit the refresh button and taking a while to boot up again. I just felt it was time to clear the mind and the body of everything competitive, everything training and everything triathlon. So I’ve really been surfing and reassessing my life as an athlete. I have still not come to a conclusion just yet, but let’s not get too carried away. I know how you lot can start/spread rumours. (Laughs… laugh with me).

Now I don’t usually post much personal stuff but today I’ll mix it up a little for you.

Most would think I’d be talking about swim, bike and run. There are another three words which I find useful for daily life.

As time goes by most people don’t even realise how caught up they are in their daily rituals, which they themselves have become.  Stuck in a rut, the comfort zone, you name it, we have all been there and most of us are more than likely in that space right now. Indeed it is a safe place to be when work has got you down. Your daily routine may only differ as your fridge empties out.

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for,

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

for your dreams, and for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow,

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals,

or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

Over the millenniums there have been many great teachers, spiritual leaders or enlightened beings (whichever you prefer); Krishna, Buddha and Jesus to name the better known.

Having always been somewhat of a spiritual person I have sought interest in the many paths, be it religious by definition or simply self development.

My latest spiritual venture is the Art of Living, founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravishankar. Widely regarded as the enlightened being of this millennium, Sri Sri Ravishankar is changing the world. His teachings have touched countless lives, including my own.

Our minds are bombarded with a plethora of messages glazed on top of old impressions, stress and anger.

As athletes our training schedules, competitions, opponents, coaches and other related events and people form a very significant part of our lives. For this reason dealing with an injury is, on a smaller scale, similar to dealing with a significant loss.

An injury can be a traumatic time for an athlete when returning to full fitness becomes a waiting game. The lack of control and the uncertainty can get the athlete feeling depressed and anxious.

There can be 5 stages involved in the injury process:

• Denial and Isolation – Refusal to recognise the injury
• Anger
• Bargaining – I will do anything (Willing to risk further injury just to compete)
• Depression
• Acceptance

Our desire to succeed is mutual, although our interpretation of success may differ. Our goals differ but our need for motivation, irrespective of its source, is real. Everyone has different heroes and for different reasons. Who is your hero and why?

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend? “If I could only see the world, I will marry you.”

One day,someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her: “‘Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?’

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn’t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

They say that time changes things, but sometimes you have to change them yourself. For a long time I knew that being confined to a chair, a desk and a PC screen would not fulfil me. I admit that I was guilty of falling into the rut of mainstreamers who tend to find it necessary to conform to the demands of society and modern living.

Wake up, get dressed, go to work, ask yourself: “WHY?” Work some more. Go home. Arrive home irritated because the traffic was not to your liking, eat dinner, and relax for a short while. Sleep. And start over. Rinse and repeat.

This is something to just make you realize that your loved ones need to be cherished and each moment with them savoured. I thankfully have had no experience of this of late but it just strikes a kind of emotion that is humbling. One that makes us take note and say thank you to those who we love and who love us.

If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly, and pray the Lord your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss, and call you back for just one more.