I was inspired after reading a post race recap from local professional triathlete Jesse Thomas. Jesse recently raced at Challenge Wanaka in New Zealand, often listed as one of the most scenic races in the world. His theme of "Cool Races in Cool Places" for this season, saw him take 3rd place, even though according to Jesse, his training load is down significantly from where it often is coming out of winter. While not all of us have the opportunity to travel to foreign countries to compete and push our individual limits, we all have the opportunity to enjoy what we do in our chosen sport.
http://leapdaysports.com/2018/02/21/2018-challenge-wanaka-race-story/
Now, not every training session will feel like a holiday where we are excited to do what session is written down. However there should be an element of gratitude in everything we do in our chosen sport or activity. I believe that this gratitude can change the lens through which we look at our training and competing. In Jesse's write-up of Challenge Wanaka it is apparent that he is very grateful for not only where he is able to race, but also grateful for where he is in life with business and family.
This does not relieve us from the hard work that will need to be put in along the way in life or sport. It does, however, help to change our attitude as we approach difficult situations that will invariably come our way. Being able to navigate challenging times is a marker of resilience.
I recently listened to a podcast from coach Matt Dixon where he was interviewing one of his athletes
Sami Inkinen
who is an elite amateur and a busy CEO executive. Sami shared one of his strategies for staying focused and moving forward. Each morning he writes down 2 things that he is grateful for. While this may seem elementary, I think it has a lot of merit. Soon after my wreck on the bike just over 3 weeks ago I started such a journal. With all of the negativity surrounding most of us on a daily basis, it becomes pretty easy to feel defeated, unmotivated and otherwise negative about, well, pretty much anything and everything. I am not saying that starting a gratitude journal will solve all of the problems each of us have in our busy lives. I am saying that not looking for ways to improve how we operate on a daily basis will likely not bring any reward.
Link to Purple Patch Podcasts here
https://purplepatchfitness.com/blog/purple-patch-podcast-matt-dixon