As I sit here on a Saturday night, alone (Shubhra's in Dehradun with friends), and having some time to think and reflect alone, I can't help but think why the heck is running so important to me? Why is everything in my life revolved around running? What is so great about running that 95% of my blog posts are about running?
Because to me running is life. Running to me is how life should be. A struggle. A challenge. A goal that constantly is changing. A strive for personal best every single time I go out there.
Now you tell me how does that compare with your life? Are there moments in your life when you are up against a wall and have no IDEA what to do? When you think to yourself, do I have the guts, do I have the heart to continue and fight through the pain and struggle?
All of these thoughts today come from watching Sports Day at Wynberg-Allen and mostly from the other teams that show up. Now I have no physical proof except my eyes and what I see, and I will not name names or point fingers, but what I saw today is the exact opposite of what sports and healthy competition is all about. What LIFE is all about............finding ways to overcome adversity. Finding ways to dig down deep and realize you have this gift that you never even knew existed until that person or thing made it come out of you. However, how can this gift come to fruition if you cheat yourself. I saw so called "athletes" on the field today competing for external glory and sadly NOT internal glory. I saw athletes today care more about breaking records and standing on the top of the podium, then to take the risk and actually compete against worthy competition of their own age. It saddens me, not that Woodstock athletes got slaughtered by these so called "athletes" but that these "athletes" are too scared to face real challenges.
Now if you're sitting here and agreeing with me, I want you to stop and really think about this last paragraph before judging, before saying "oh yeah, how can these students cheat like this." Because I want you to think about the last time you truly challenged yourself with something, with anything. If you can't think of anything in the past year or even 6 months, then how are you better than these boys? If you're not finding ways to challenge yourself, to push yourself to be the best human being out there, then how can you judge these boys? Yeah, wow you're not cheating, but you're not striving to be the best you can be either. So I ask you what's better? You don't cheat, but you don't push yourself either.
So why do I run? I run, because every single day I lace up my shoes and want to see how far I can push myself, how fast I can go day in and day out without tiring. I run, because unlike some people in this world who go for that easy external glory, I want to be the best that I can be and not care about anything else. Does this mean I'll win every race? No. Does this mean I set records every race I compete in? No. But this does mean that every freakin time my feet touch that asphalt I will be giving it my 100% and I WILL.......NOT.........QUIT! Just like in life. Yeah, I will make mistakes. I will screw up. But I WILL learn from those mistakes and I will try, try, try until my heart stops beating I've tried so hard.
I teach my students to always try and never settle for average. I show my students I try and never settle for average. I live my life to always try and never, ever settle for average. Now I ask you, what do you want to do?
Happy smiling!
Because to me running is life. Running to me is how life should be. A struggle. A challenge. A goal that constantly is changing. A strive for personal best every single time I go out there.
Now you tell me how does that compare with your life? Are there moments in your life when you are up against a wall and have no IDEA what to do? When you think to yourself, do I have the guts, do I have the heart to continue and fight through the pain and struggle?
All of these thoughts today come from watching Sports Day at Wynberg-Allen and mostly from the other teams that show up. Now I have no physical proof except my eyes and what I see, and I will not name names or point fingers, but what I saw today is the exact opposite of what sports and healthy competition is all about. What LIFE is all about............finding ways to overcome adversity. Finding ways to dig down deep and realize you have this gift that you never even knew existed until that person or thing made it come out of you. However, how can this gift come to fruition if you cheat yourself. I saw so called "athletes" on the field today competing for external glory and sadly NOT internal glory. I saw athletes today care more about breaking records and standing on the top of the podium, then to take the risk and actually compete against worthy competition of their own age. It saddens me, not that Woodstock athletes got slaughtered by these so called "athletes" but that these "athletes" are too scared to face real challenges.
Now if you're sitting here and agreeing with me, I want you to stop and really think about this last paragraph before judging, before saying "oh yeah, how can these students cheat like this." Because I want you to think about the last time you truly challenged yourself with something, with anything. If you can't think of anything in the past year or even 6 months, then how are you better than these boys? If you're not finding ways to challenge yourself, to push yourself to be the best human being out there, then how can you judge these boys? Yeah, wow you're not cheating, but you're not striving to be the best you can be either. So I ask you what's better? You don't cheat, but you don't push yourself either.
So why do I run? I run, because every single day I lace up my shoes and want to see how far I can push myself, how fast I can go day in and day out without tiring. I run, because unlike some people in this world who go for that easy external glory, I want to be the best that I can be and not care about anything else. Does this mean I'll win every race? No. Does this mean I set records every race I compete in? No. But this does mean that every freakin time my feet touch that asphalt I will be giving it my 100% and I WILL.......NOT.........QUIT! Just like in life. Yeah, I will make mistakes. I will screw up. But I WILL learn from those mistakes and I will try, try, try until my heart stops beating I've tried so hard.
I teach my students to always try and never settle for average. I show my students I try and never settle for average. I live my life to always try and never, ever settle for average. Now I ask you, what do you want to do?
Happy smiling!
