Daring Greatly

Difficult things are only difficult until you do them. Then, they may still be hard, but you now know you’re capable of them.

I did the park run yesterday. I ran my fastest 5km ever.

The stats and numbers that comes with athletics or sport can become addictive and somewhat problematic. Would I have felt bad if I’d ran my slowest 5km yesterday in the park? I was told I was the 80th person to finish, the 27th female and all the rest. These things, when you’re not careful, can take away from the achievement.

I ran the track all the way without stopping as an amateur runner, that’s amazing, end of story.

How obsessed we get with numbers! They are cool and they can motivate us, sure, but like I said, we just need to be careful that we don’t forget why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place. To never forget to celebrate the small wins that are very big.

Watching the Olympics, I find myself saying aloud that these incredible athletes should be proud that they’re even there. Proud that they gave it their all, regardless of the result. Just because someone was better, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t do a fantastic job doing what not many other people can do.

They should celebrate even when they don’t get gold.

We should celebrate even when we don’t get gold. Because many people don’t even step into the race of life anyway.

As I read in Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, which she quoted from Theodore Roosevelt…

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds…who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

I’m not sure I dared greatly yesterday, but I did something I found scary and I achieved something. That’s pretty great.

I dare you to dare greatly, even if you find defeat, you’re still incredible for being in the arena.

Sincerely,

S. xx