My March Vetrunner article
The saying goes “If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?” Besides being a test of our character, this saying serves to challenge us to examine why we don’t attempt to do everything we would like to do.
All of us at some time or other choose not to attempt something great because of fear, the fear of failure.
Fear means we don’t know what the future holds, and we decline to move forward. Boldness on the other hand means we don’t know what the future holds but we have decided to move forward anyway. Fear and boldness have the same starting point! It is as simple as that; we have a choice. When the future is uncertain we decide what our actions are going to be. When we decide to play it safe, mediocrity is the outcome. It is way more exciting to take risks, chancing the possibility of real benefit and gain. I know where I would rather be. It has nothing to do with what has happened in the past, or what the naysayers go on about. It is everything to do with how we look at life. It is all about having a glass half full attitude. Boldness and assurance make all the difference.
Connecting this to training and fitness, I contend that it is good to have quite a flexible approach to training. How else will you discover what might be achieved? Never be content to do everything the same way it has always been done. When you keep an open mind and take some risks, you may discover better ways to gain and maintain fitness. Whereas when your routine is kept just the same it always has been, there is little chance of any improvement. Put another way, regardless of what others say, a flexible approach is better than sticking to the safe and familiar.
The familiar is not necessarily the best.
I am a fan of a group called Switchfoot, and their song “Thrive” expresses the writer’s desire to thrive, not just survive.
Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?
I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man if I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes
No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel doesn't mean you can drive
A warm body doesn't mean I'm alive
No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
Down the track I don’t want people to say about me “lots of things happened to him but he did OK, because he managed to survive them.”
I would rather people said “Despite every setback and all opposition, he thrived. He grasped every opportunity and ran with it.”
Hoping you are the same.
The saying goes “If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?” Besides being a test of our character, this saying serves to challenge us to examine why we don’t attempt to do everything we would like to do.
All of us at some time or other choose not to attempt something great because of fear, the fear of failure.
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. - Nelson Mandela
It is sad to see someone living in fear. Fear can mean we do not grasp opportunities for greatness when they come along. Fear keeps us from reaching our potential. People who live with fear and discouragement fail to take steps which would open up new and rewarding possibilities. Instead of being driven by fear, let’s have a mindset where we put discouragement behind us and step forward into whatever the future holds.
Fear means we don’t know what the future holds, and we decline to move forward. Boldness on the other hand means we don’t know what the future holds but we have decided to move forward anyway. Fear and boldness have the same starting point! It is as simple as that; we have a choice. When the future is uncertain we decide what our actions are going to be. When we decide to play it safe, mediocrity is the outcome. It is way more exciting to take risks, chancing the possibility of real benefit and gain. I know where I would rather be. It has nothing to do with what has happened in the past, or what the naysayers go on about. It is everything to do with how we look at life. It is all about having a glass half full attitude. Boldness and assurance make all the difference.
Connecting this to training and fitness, I contend that it is good to have quite a flexible approach to training. How else will you discover what might be achieved? Never be content to do everything the same way it has always been done. When you keep an open mind and take some risks, you may discover better ways to gain and maintain fitness. Whereas when your routine is kept just the same it always has been, there is little chance of any improvement. Put another way, regardless of what others say, a flexible approach is better than sticking to the safe and familiar.
The familiar is not necessarily the best.
I am a fan of a group called Switchfoot, and their song “Thrive” expresses the writer’s desire to thrive, not just survive.
Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?
I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man if I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes
No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel doesn't mean you can drive
A warm body doesn't mean I'm alive
No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
Down the track I don’t want people to say about me “lots of things happened to him but he did OK, because he managed to survive them.”
I would rather people said “Despite every setback and all opposition, he thrived. He grasped every opportunity and ran with it.”
Hoping you are the same.
