Go For The Gold!
Go for the Gold!
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the winter Olympics!
There is something very special about seeing those athletes embrace their moment of glory.
Win or lose, the experience of participating in the Olympics, and the preparation involved is admirable.
I am amazed by the athleticism and the authenticity of each athlete, and each sport.
The power is palpable, the emotion engaging and the courage, contagious.
Of course they always save the best for last…I ended up staying up way past my bedtime more than
once to see my all time favorite, the figure skating. It was well worth every minute of lost shut eye.
They make it look so easy, though I know it can’t possibly be. Their courage, grace, determination and
focus are amazing and energizing. Realizing that these people have invested their lives, for years,
sometimes decades, preparing for a few single minutes, sometimes seconds, to make history, is mind
boggling.
Somehow, I have never quite acquired that level of drive. I like a lot of things, but none well enough
to practice and perfect them all day every day for years.
I don’t know how they do it! Just being in the Junior Miss pageant in high school was enough to rattle
my nerves. I practiced my routine for months on those uneven parallel bars in preparation for the
talent portion of the pageant. I thought I had it, until the curtain opened, and 500 sets of eyes were
focused on me. I cracked under pressure, which is why I am so intrigued by others who are energized
to excel by it! I am rarely intimated by an audience as a speaker, but put a guitar in my hands, or
expect me to be funny, and it’s a whole different ballgame.
I think that is why I enjoy the Olympics so much. The emotion is evident in every athlete, every
announcer, and every audience observing and cheering them on. I can only imagine the pressure they
feel with all eyes on them, their country counting on them to represent them to the best of their ability,
and better than anyone else.
Though most of us are not Olympians, nor do we aspire to be, we can go for the gold every day. I’m
not talking about the monetary kind, or the one that hangs on a ribbon around your neck, but the pride
that comes with pursuing your purpose with passion. Purpose is the root of passion, and is evident in
the energy we invest in daily activities.
No guts, no glory, so they say, and the Olympiads are living proof.
May you Go for the Gold, in what ever pursuit fuels your passion!
