Showing posts with label heart of a champion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart of a champion. Show all posts
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Skip The What-ifs
On NPR's "All Things Considered" recently, I was literally stopped in my tracks by a story. Was I hearing what I thought I heard? Sure enough. 18-year-old Kayla Montgomery won the title for her distance in track and field in North Carolina, making her one of the country's fastest young distance runners. She is currently ranked 21st in the nation in the 3,200 meters and will soon compete nationally.*
While that accomplishment is commendable, her title and ranking are not what make her story extraordinary. What makes her stand out is that she has accomplished them while having multiple sclerosis. She cannot feel her legs much of the time, and her coach must meet her at the finish line to catch her, or else she will fall on the track and not be able to get up.
I personally cannot imagine how she does this, but she has the heart of a champion. She is obviously good at her sport, she loves it, and she wants to be the best. What is even more remarkable about Kayla is her attitude. In the NPR piece, she says, "For a few years, I was terrified that I might not be able to run tomorrow or the next day. I kind of decided that that wasn't really helping me and I wasn't happy living like that. So I stopped focusing on the what-ifs, and [started] focusing on what I'm able to do now."
Boy, am I ever humbled! She's ranked 21st in the nation, she can't even feel her legs, and she won't let herself be stopped by what-ifs. One of those what-ifs is falling on the track and not being able to get up. That happened to her recently. Motivated by another competitor passing her, she grabbed a fence, pulled herself back to her feet, and continued the race.
Now, just what is it that I've been putting off doing because of what-ifs? Kayla's inspiration tells me that if she could pull herself back to her feet and finish the race, there really isn't anything I couldn't do, if I was willing to embarrass myself a little and figure things out when they happened. You see, if did fall on the track of my life a few years ago, but unlike Kayla, since I pulled myself to my feet, I've been limping along on someone else's dream rather than my own.
I think of how many times I've been stalled because of concerns about things that might go wrong again, when really all that matters is that I get started on my life. Even taking a single step in the direction I want to go is better than being a stuck in someone else's life. When I finish this column, I plan to sit down and make a list of things I would do if there were no what-ifs and then figure out something I can do to start them in the next two weeks. The only way I can really fail is if I don't show up--for my life and my dreams. I've been doing that too much in recent years. Now, it is time for me to find the heart of the champion that I can be and get started.
*http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287751438/catching-kayla-running-one-step-ahead-of-multiple-sclerosis
Monday, February 3, 2014
Having Heart
Last night I watched "The Gaby Douglas Story," a movie about the gymnast who won both individual and team gold in the London Olympics. She is the only woman to hold that distinction. She trained with famed gymnastics coach Liang Chow for almost two years before he told her he was going to share "the secret to being an Olympic champion."
Before he told her, she indignantly asked, "Why didn't you tell me two years ago?"
"You were not ready to hear it," he said. "The secret isn't in muscle or speed. The secret to being an Olympic champion is heart." Then, he asked, "Do you have the heart of a champion?" (I wasn't taking notes while watching the movie; these quotes are paraphrased, but fairly close.)
This was the last day in my long weekend of writing. This afternoon I sat and read 20 pages. "Not bad," I thought. It actually sunk in for perhaps the first time that I've had a pretty interesting life and that other people may enjoy reading my memoir.
Yet, as I thought about it, I wondered what Chow would tell me about being an author of successful books. Each of my first two books won minor recognition. Leading from the Heart was an alternate selection of Book-of-the-Month Club, and The Alchemy of Fear was chosen by The Executive Club as its monthly selection. (It also won a similar award in France, but since my French is non-existent, I don't remember the exact name.) Each was out in multiple languages. Each has a following which says the books have changed their lives.
My royalties were small, and foreign language rights were negligible. I never came close to making back what I lost in consulting fees when I was working on them. And, they were my financially successful books. Would Chow tell me that I didn't have the heart of a successful author? If so, where do I find that heart because I want it in this book? As I wrote today, I wept. In fact, I've had to retrieve a box of tissues more than once on this writing project. Does that mean that this book will have more heart?
Just months before Douglas would distinguish herself with the double-gold accomplishment in London, she was ready to give up. Chow's words reminded her that she had the heart of a champion, and remembering that drove her through those last difficult months. In running, it is called "hitting the wall," when a marathon runner runs out of steam with only one or two miles of the 26 remaining. Pure will and heart are what keeps her on the course.
In the voice-over at the beginning of the movie, Douglas says that she tried giving up but she found that was harder than winning. In the last few years when I've pretty much walked away from writing, I've been miserable. I know what Douglas means when she says that giving up is harder than winning. Fighting one's very nature must be harder than following it.
When I started this blog, I had two purposes: 1) to provide an outlet for my writing that might serve others and 2) to share the spiritual journey with other pilgrims. I said, "I don't claim to have the answers, but often the questions are informative...." Some days I feel like I have more of the answers than others. Today is not one of them. Today I am squeezed between knowing that I must write and not-knowing how to have the "heart of a champion" writer. Today I am sharing the questions. Not only "How can I not do what I must?" but also "How can I do it well enough to really make a difference?"
As a youngster Gaby Douglas precociously proclaimed that she wanted to go to the Olympics: she went, and she won. I want my words to make the world a better place...and I hope they will. I may not know the answers, but I do know that intention is a powerful thing.
Before he told her, she indignantly asked, "Why didn't you tell me two years ago?"
"You were not ready to hear it," he said. "The secret isn't in muscle or speed. The secret to being an Olympic champion is heart." Then, he asked, "Do you have the heart of a champion?" (I wasn't taking notes while watching the movie; these quotes are paraphrased, but fairly close.)
This was the last day in my long weekend of writing. This afternoon I sat and read 20 pages. "Not bad," I thought. It actually sunk in for perhaps the first time that I've had a pretty interesting life and that other people may enjoy reading my memoir.
Yet, as I thought about it, I wondered what Chow would tell me about being an author of successful books. Each of my first two books won minor recognition. Leading from the Heart was an alternate selection of Book-of-the-Month Club, and The Alchemy of Fear was chosen by The Executive Club as its monthly selection. (It also won a similar award in France, but since my French is non-existent, I don't remember the exact name.) Each was out in multiple languages. Each has a following which says the books have changed their lives.
My royalties were small, and foreign language rights were negligible. I never came close to making back what I lost in consulting fees when I was working on them. And, they were my financially successful books. Would Chow tell me that I didn't have the heart of a successful author? If so, where do I find that heart because I want it in this book? As I wrote today, I wept. In fact, I've had to retrieve a box of tissues more than once on this writing project. Does that mean that this book will have more heart?
Just months before Douglas would distinguish herself with the double-gold accomplishment in London, she was ready to give up. Chow's words reminded her that she had the heart of a champion, and remembering that drove her through those last difficult months. In running, it is called "hitting the wall," when a marathon runner runs out of steam with only one or two miles of the 26 remaining. Pure will and heart are what keeps her on the course.
In the voice-over at the beginning of the movie, Douglas says that she tried giving up but she found that was harder than winning. In the last few years when I've pretty much walked away from writing, I've been miserable. I know what Douglas means when she says that giving up is harder than winning. Fighting one's very nature must be harder than following it.
When I started this blog, I had two purposes: 1) to provide an outlet for my writing that might serve others and 2) to share the spiritual journey with other pilgrims. I said, "I don't claim to have the answers, but often the questions are informative...." Some days I feel like I have more of the answers than others. Today is not one of them. Today I am squeezed between knowing that I must write and not-knowing how to have the "heart of a champion" writer. Today I am sharing the questions. Not only "How can I not do what I must?" but also "How can I do it well enough to really make a difference?"
As a youngster Gaby Douglas precociously proclaimed that she wanted to go to the Olympics: she went, and she won. I want my words to make the world a better place...and I hope they will. I may not know the answers, but I do know that intention is a powerful thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)