Beyond Speed and Skill

Do you know who Eliud Kipchoge Rotich is? How about Feyisa Lilesa or Galen Rupp? Maybe not, but I’ll bet you’ve at least heard of Usain Bolt. And you probably still remember guys like Carl Lewis and Michael Johnston even though neither has really competed in the last couple decades. We are wowed by the flashiness of speed. It grabs our attention and holds it captive.

We are also mesmerized by obvious display of seemingly otherworldly skill, such as Simone Biles in floor routine, who just made history with her sixth all-around US gymnastics title. Conspicuous displays of talent and speed are hard to ignore. Stamina, however, is far less exciting. It may even be boring.

Rotich, Lilesa and Rupp are the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal winners respectively from the 2016 Olympic Marathon. Eliud Kipchoge Rotich finished the course in just over two hours, 2:08:44 to be exact. That means his average speed was 12.2 miles per hour. But that speed is nothing remarkable by itself. A lot of people can run 12 miles per hour. What earned Rotich the Gold Medal is he kept up that average pace for OVER TWENTY-SIX FREAKING MILES!?! If I really pushed myself, maybe I could have kept up with him for the first 800 meters, then I would need to call Uber. No doubt, Rotich has speed, but not enough to grab your attention. There is certainly a great deal of technique and strategy in a marathon, but it’s very subtle and imperceptible to the average observer. What makes Rotich phenomenal is stamina.

Stamina isn’t sexy, flashy or even remarkable (at least not in the moment). You might even say it’s dull and monotonous. But stamina is something you can control. God might not have made you particularly athletic, quick and coordinated. But choosing to not quit is entirely up to you. Simply continuing to move forward, regardless of your speed, will lead to many victories in your life. Even if you walk the 26.2 miles of a marathon, you will still be in select company for simply having completed such a daunting objective.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on

Primed for Progress

Just as some pumps need to be primed to work effectively, our lives need to be “primed” to flow efficiently. Good mornings and productive days don’t happen by accident, and by “priming” your day, you can set yourself up for better results. Does it mean you won’t have bad days? Of course not, but it’s making your day happen instead of just waiting for what happens. Once again, it’s a choice of being proactive rather than reactive. You will still have challenges and difficulties, but how you face those hurdles and respond to the struggles will be different with a primed mindset. I am sure there are many ways to prime your day and set the tone for the hours ahead, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for all. However, the process of creating a plan or a model of how things should unfold is a great place for anyone to start. Also, as I have mentioned before, how you actually start the morning is critical - the battle with the alarm clock is your first chance at victory for

Flower Among Thorns

About six or seven years ago, my wife was around three months pregnant as we eagerly anticipated the birth of another child. One night, as I lay sleeping, I had a dream that our baby was born. It was a beautiful little girl with thin, wispy hair and large, bright eyes punctuating her beautiful face. I held her proudly in my arms and stared down at this precious little creation. I carefully handed her off to her older brother, who was just a toddler himself, as he sat on the coach, arms outstretched, anxiously awaiting the chance to hold his baby sister. I helped him prop up a pillow underneath his little arms to help support my daughter and then stepped back to take in the amazing sight as he gazed down at her with both pride and amazement in his eyes. As I stood there watching them, the dream quickly faded. When I woke up, my eyes met the tearful glance of my wife. “I’m bleeding,” she said as she fought back the emotions, “I think I am miscarrying.” Those words sunk deeply i

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog