A few weeks ago I went to Omaha to visit my daughter Rachel and her fiancé Steven. While there, we did a triathlon. It’s always fun to have something break you out of your comfort zone! Although I have done many triathlons, they still get the blood flowing.
Right before the race there was a young girl she had to be no more than 10 or 11 years old. You could tell that this little pixie stick was nervous.
I asked her if this was her first triathlon and she said, “Yes.”
“Are you nervous?” I continued and she said, “Yes!”
“Can I give you some advice?” and she said, “YES!”
She was not one for many words : ) I think the pre-race jitters had her knotted up a bit.
So I advise this first time triathlete to take the swim at a pace that she would be able to keep a conversation. “Don’t get your heart rate real high. The key to the swim is to not go to fast and getting all worked up.”
“OK.” she uttered.
So triathlon begins, I plunge in and have what I would consider a good swim for not having a wetsuit (the water was too warm to wear one). I get out of the water and run to my bike (my favorite part of a triathlon) and as I am running through the transition area I see Pixie!
Ha I’ll be! She beat me out of the water! And the little stinker started three minutes AFTER me.
My first instinct was not to question my swimming ability but to marvel at how good of a teacher I was:) 🙂 🙂
As I passed her on the bike I shouted, “You beat me in the swim!” and OMG the smile she had was one that could have lit up a stadium at night.
We all have a unique set of gifts and talents. You cannot know and experience them if you do not learn to go outside your comfort zone. I think that’s an important part of living a life full of vitality. And it surely doesn’t have to be just physical adventure.
It might be reading a book or listening to a health podcast. Doing some mediation or yoga. Maybe it’s going to church. Whatever it is, you should wake up each day and try to create a new and better you because growth and discovery come from continued challenges.
And look, if a ten year old can hop in and do a triathlon then you can find something to dive into also! Who knows you just might be better than you think.
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