So it Begins

The winter Olympics have been fun to watch. The dedication that each participant displays is awesome. Since the air time coverage can't possibly cover every participant in every sport I often wonder about all the athletes that are good enough to represent their country but aren't mentioned. Think of the dedication that each of those athletes have been through only to come up short on "game day" or suffer a fall or crash that eliminates them from competition.

In reality there probably isn't much difference in any of the athletes desire to compete. It comes down to natural ability and a little game day luck! Each of us has natural ability to excel at something. Some choose to excel at being an "enthusiast", others just like people watching, and some are content to sit on the sidelines with a bag of chips and a beer. As long as you excel at your chosen gift, go-for-it.

There is a small group of individuals that participate in an event that is just a little short of crazy. Some have heard of it and others have not. In the end, it's a personal goal for most of these participants to enter these events and dedicate a portion of their life to training. It's a simple word, Ironman, but what a participant goes through to complete an Ironman is a little short of crazy. Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles. In all an Ironman swims, bikes, and runs 140.6 miles in a day.

An Ironman is not thrilling like your skiing down a hill at over 70mph where a mistake will cause serious injury or as graceful as figure skating. It is a little more like watching a turtle cross a busy road at a steady pace for 10 hours. But for the participant it is full of excitement, focus, and the feeling of accomplishment when it is over. At least that is what I am hoping for. I am now 29 weeks from my first Ironman and training officially begins 3 weeks from now.

So it begins....

Notice IT

Have you ever stopped to look around and actually notice what you see? It could be at work, at school, in a restaurant, anywhere there are people. I suggest that you take a look and notice.

I was in the store the other day waiting to use the self check out register when I first noticed IT. A man was scanning his items to purchase. At first things were going smoothly and then he had some issues with an item that he could not scan. The clerk that was managing 6 self serve lanes was busy with another customer and he began to wait.

The next person in line decided to step in to help which was nice to see. However, as the events unfolded the person who stepped into help was actually doing it out of selfishness. This individual proceeded to find the item, but then scanned the remainder of the items in the person's cart and asked the man for his credit card to complete the transaction. Once completed this person hastily placed all the bags into the man's cart and pushed it out of the way. There wasn't any eye contact or pleasant gestures, it was almost a case of "check out rage".

You may have noticed IT many times without realizing that these times have turned people a little inward and placing their own interests ahead of others. With the economy still recovering people have become hardened to a point where they are not interested in helping others and are more concerned about their own welfare. This isn't good for anyone.

Take notice when you are out and make a difference to help out of kindness not selfishness. Life isn't a race. It is to be experienced one moment at a time. The kindness you share will be shared again and again!

Until next time...