Many people want to succeed…
Perform at their best…
And hit the highest levels they can.
However…
The way that most people do this is reckless.
In their recklessness…
They end up destroying themselves…
Unable to reach their potential…
And failing.
I had a recent event in my life around the idea of the reflection for this month: Recklessness, yet Responsibility.
I am a semi-pro athlete in my free time, and about a month ago, I had a big obstacle course race event.
I went into the race, extremely excited.
But…
As soon as I started…
Something felt off.
My body was not performing how I know it should…
I was missing obstacles that I normally nail…
I felt really fatigued…
And then the headache began to hit.
As all of this began to become worse…
Part of me wanted to push through…
I had sponsors who expect certain levels of dedication…
I had family at the event, like my siblings who look up to me…
I had expectations of myself to perform at my absolute best.
The desire to push through, despite the problems I was experiencing, was potent.
But it began to get worse…
To the point where I was beginning to feel delirious.
I could barely see straight and was feeling more and more confused.
I began to think a new thought…
Am I being reckless?
Ultimately…
I made the decision to drop out of the race.
DNF…
Did Not Finish.
It was the first time in my entire athletic career that I dropped out of anything.
It felt embarrassing…
I was angry and upset…
Disappointed.
When I recovered, I came to the realization that I had been dehydrated, was experiencing heat exhaustion, and was on the verge of heat stroke.
If I had continued…
I would have been recklessly trying to finish and potentially putting myself in the hospital with irreversible damage.
Instead…
I chose to handle my health responsibly in that moment.
But here is where it gets more interesting…
I had another race this year…
Just last weekend.
I trained harder and prepared better for the race.
When I got to the starting line for this race…
I felt nervous…
Unsure…
And I told myself that I was going to be Responsible…
With the goal to push myself…
But do it safely…
Especially since this was a longer distance race, which tends to be my weaker event.
As I started the race…
I felt completely different.
I was feeling strong…
Hitting obstacles well…
And my pace was excellent…
In fact…
It was far better than I had imagined would be possible.
Even though I slowed down to share a prayer with another racer…
I still finished with a PR…
Personal Record.
The race was 21 k (13.1 mi) with 30+ Obstacles…
My previous PR was 3 hours, 15 minutes, and 19 seconds.
This time?
2 hours, 51 minutes, and 33 seconds.
But even better…
I took Third Place in my Age Division…
A Podium Finish.
Now, here’s what is really important to understand…
If I had been reckless the month before…
I would have most likely still been recovering at this point…
Especially if I had caused myself serious damage.
But…
Because I acted responsibly…
I was able to come back stronger and better than I have ever raced before.
I understand the desire to perform…
To succeed…
To push to your limits…
But…
If you seek these recklessly, you will not obtain any of them.
To truly attain these…
You must treat yourself responsibly.
You have certain needs and limits…
And you can expand yourself to attain incredible things…
But only if you pursue them responsibly.
Where in your life have you been acting recklessly to your detriment?
If you were to begin to be responsible for yourself…
What more could you attain?
What does your mind and body need or demand?
And are you providing for yourself?
