You have to fail in order to move forward
Walking back from training this morning I struck up a conversation with Lee. Lee was walking ahead of me and looked a little unsteady on her feet so I asked her if she was alright. It turns out she had broken her back and spine a few years back, but through determination and persistence she was not only now walking again but also looking forward to again returning to her previous enjoyment of sprinting. Inspirational.
I was inspired by her story. The long journey of overcoming a disastrous turn of events, and the slow and gradual road to recovery. Achieving things which she was told she would never do again- standing, walking, independence- things we all take for granted.
She mentioned a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger, which although not verbatim, is something like:
You have to fail in order to move forward.
Not everything goes to plan, and setbacks should just make you more determined to succeed. Being comfortable marked the beginning of the road to mediocrity. Listening to her story, it dawned on me that the level of discomfort and pain she had endured- physically and emotionally- would have been intense at different times.
I mentioned some minor discomfort with my left calf calf muscle in comparison to what she had overcome indicating that her story had put my injury into perspective. She listened and then suggested that maybe this irritation might be linked to my big toe. She suggested some stretching exercises, incorporation of swimming (for hip mobility), talked about diet and a list of awesome advice which was great to receive.
Lee gave me some insights to improving my training and conditioning- about excelling performance and avoiding overtraining. We finished with her giving me her philosophy to attitude and goal setting. A great start to the day. Thanks Lee.
Building Bridges 