Originally posted - August 15, 2008
“DEFEATED???”
…so I’m stretching out and getting ready to do my daily exercise routine and my brain decided to go into overdrive! I’m a very goal oriented guy so I was trying to get mentally prepared for a very physical 5K outdoor run (not to be confused with jogging or a treadmill apparatus)! I started thinking about the obstacles that have held me back and the motivation that I have to refuse to be defeated….
I started running while the stopwatch reminded me of my mortality. I started thinking about some motivating things like:
<Olympian Michael Phelps winning gold medals in all of his events (swimming) and setting world records… not to mention he’s now the most decorated Olympian and counting!
<Olympians Ryan Lochte and Peirsol (US teammates of Phelps) competing against but also pushing Phelps to be a better athlete and having success of their own.
<All of those successful swimmers hate to lose but they’re motivated by their teammates abilities and successes even when they get beat … basically iron sharpens iron!
<Olympians Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor winning 100+ straight games in beach volleyball and defending a gold medal.
<Olympians Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs trying to work their way to the top in beach volleyball to challenge their US opponents and friends (Walsh & May).
<Those volleyball players also hate to lose but are motivated instead of defeated when one does better than the other.
Sometimes we get a defeated attitude when we don’t succeed every time at everything. I choose to look at my defeats as challenges for the next time. For instance…. when Kip, Andrew, and myself got smoked in a ping-pong tournament the other night by Bryan, I was a little bummed but not defeated. I chose to be motivated by a better player and will attempt to try harder for next time instead of grovel in the defeat of the evening. Plus…it was for fun… if it was something I’m really into, I would have to put training and practice time in to be better! I ran a road race in Beaufort recently and finished in the top 20 out of 400+ but it’s not as good as I used to be. I can choose to be defeated or motivated to train harder and set my long-term goal to be back at the #1 spot. Short term goals are even more important to help defeat defeat! I’ll aim to beat the person directly in front of me instead of the person at the front….I’ll get there eventually one step at a time. I’ll also aim for my personal best regardless of what those around me are doing. There is huge success and motivation in personal goals. My wife Sara ran her second road race ever with me and she was extremely motivated that she beat her personal best time regardless of the fact that she was towards the back of the pack. That’s a great attitude. I’ve noticed she has taken that attitude home and used that energy in her training. I’m oh so very proud!!!
Obstacles will always get in our way in this walk of life but we have to make a choice of defeat or victory in spite of challenges. Do you give up or push harder when things don’t go as you planned. When a car drives in front of me when I running I have to slow down or stop and I have to push harder to make up that time. When I got hit by a drunk driver, I had to push harder to rehabilitate (still working on it), and give it everything I’ve got instead of giving up.
>Don’t get defeated… get motivated… and push harder if necessary!
>Remember... half of the game of life is mental… don’t let your brain defeat your flesh!
>Bummed when losing is alright…. Giving up and quitting is a defeated attitude!
P.S. I exercise because I want to be in the best physical shape I can be in so God can use me and my health not be a concern or a limitation….at least the parts that I have some control over. I also find it hard to teach about discipline in areas of life if I can’t even have discipline with my flesh….it’s very visual and hard to hide!!!
P.S.S. For those that use the slogan “I’m too old” for getting in shape, I rebuke that. That’s not a good reason… it’s a bad excuse. I regularly run road races with people in their 50’s, 60’s, and sometimes 70’s and they are not only finishing the races but they sometimes are even finishing in the top 10. I see the old lady (70+) across the street walk a 6+ mile strip of road every morning around 6am. I see fairly new mom’s in these road races pushing running strollers with up to two children….hello! I ran a road race with my friend Ed Salau who lost his leg in war and still refused to be defeated! Amazing motivation.
Look around you at the successful people in whatever area of life that interests you… don’t be jealous, angry at yourself, or defeated…. be motivated to get your butt in gear and do something about it if you want to see change!
Oh yeah…the run….so I broke my own personal record for that course by one second!!! HOORAY!!! That included some obstacles that I had to overcome…. wind, rain, traffic, and a turtle!