It’s recently dawned on me that when I look at the Race Across America and in particular the solo race, there seem to be riders who have shown up to finish what they started.
These people who finish no matter what shows up are people who even if the race or their bodies get the better of them in their first attempt, are the type who will go back and get the job done the following year or have plans to go back and finish what they started, Kerry White is one of those legends along with Janet Christiansen who didn’t finish in her first attempt but went back the following year and finished as an official finisher.
These individuals will take on board the learning that has been gifted to them during this Ultra feast which is truly unlike anything else out there in terms of beasting yourself against everything that is thrown at you over 12 days (men) 13 days (women).
Life Lessons
It’s a great example of what happens to us all on a daily basis, there are loads of curve balls that get thrown during a normal day at work, school or college but the point I’m making here is it’s more about your ability to rebound and pick yourself up from those tricky situations.
I guess I’m talking about just how emotionally resilient are you. Harry Potter has an invisibility cloak that he uses to allow him to sneak around Hogwarts. We all have the option to have a similar cloak which could be used to guard us against all of the interference that can knock us off our feet! Almost like a bullet proof vest this cloak can protect us from negative people and they are out there!
Simple bits of feedback delivered in the wrong way can cause us a period of time out of our day when we’re not as productive. All sorts of stuff has the potential to get in our way of being really focused when we need to be.
We are so chaotic as human beings and we need to understand that there is only one thing we can control in our lives and that’s ourselves!
Most people tend to spend so much time and energy focusing on stuff that is completely out of our control that we have become an anxiety driven society; we’re on edge and can be easily distracted and knocked off from what we should be focusing on.
We can be having an amazing day and then all of a sudden, someone says something that’s maybe not even intended for us but we over hear it and think that they were talking about us and off we go on one! Up til that point we were as happy as Larry and now we’ve lost it. So much time is lost in these sort of curve balls and we lose so much focus on these type of events, of course there are bigger things that also can derail us and ultimately it’s about how we respond to these events that in turn shape us into who we are today.
The Way Forward
The only way to really become emotionally resilient is to expect the curve balls to show up, life has a way of throwing stuff at us to see whether we’ve got it yet or not! Either events or people will come along to test us to see if they still have the power to upset us or not.
I spoke to my daughter a few years ago about this when she was upset about breaking up from her first boyfriend, I mentioned that it was a bit like standing in the sea up to your knees, the waves will come at you constantly, most of them will be gentle and you will enjoy your time in the sea facing the elements. Every now and then however, there will be a wave that comes along and knocks you off your feet, you can almost expect it!
I’m not suggesting that you live a life of expecting to be bowled over at some point so don’t get too happy! On the contrary, I’m suggesting that by being ready for that unexpected wave because that’s what it usually is, you can be ready to dust yourself off and enjoy the rest of your time on the planet.
A boyfriend leaving you might have some big lessons around what you want and more importantly deserve in a new relationship, get that lesson and you’ll be a much happier person. The same can be said about leaving a job and a host of other stuff we think is really big at the time.
When those curve balls get thrown one of the best ways to look at it is to ask:- What can I learn from this? So that it doesn’t show up again!
I’m not saying this is easy and at the same time I am. Choice as usual plays a big role in how long we put ourselves through the mangler!
Choose wise let go and learn as quickly as possible.
With love and energy
Tags: determination, emotional resilient, finishing what you started, life lessons, staying strong, toughness
