Choosing to Hold Our Pace When We Can’t See a Way Forward
@bethvogt
It’s been another week of watching the Olympics for me and yes, another athlete’s experience in Tokyo taught me a life lesson I’m going to remember for years to come.
Rob and I were watching one of the heats for the men’s 800 meter. (Can I just say track and field has a lot of heats?) USA’s Clayton Murphy, who won an Olympic bronze medal in this event in 2016, was running in the heat, so of course, we were cheering for him. Things didn’t look good for Murphy. He was boxed in by the other runners, and as the commentators said, he was looking for “some space and daylight,” but wasn’t finding it.
I made some comments of my own about the race, along the lines of, “He’s not going to final.”
Murphy somehow, someway, edged past the runners surrounding him. He kicked it and came in first.
In his interview after the race, Clayton said, “I said a prayer and hoped space would open up.”
I said a prayer and hoped space would open up.
Talk about a life lesson to hold onto to.
Murphy didn’t look at the runners surrounding him and think, “This is an impossible situation. There’s no way I can win.”
No, Murphy kept doing what he had trained to do. He ran.
He prayed.
He hoped.
There was no quit in him.
Murphy won his heat, but even if he hadn’t, he would have known in his heart he’d given the race his all.
I was talking with my friend Rachel the other day and she mentioned how she sees a lot of people struggling with discouragement. With the temptation to quit.
I agree. I’ve faced that struggle, too, and know others battling it.
Maybe …. just for today … what we need to do is keep running. Hold our pace, even if we feel boxed in by our circumstances. If we can’t see a breakthrough, let’s say a prayer and hope a space will open up for us to move forward.
Choosing to Hold Our Pace When We Can't See a Way Forward #perseverance #hope
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'Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.' #quote by novelist Victor Hugo #perseverance #encouragement
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