Tuesday, January 7, 2014

ON RUNNING REALLY FAST

Here's a very little known fact about me...

Ready?

One of my very FAVORITE things to watch is when an athlete wins. Not just see them make the winning shot, or get the hole in one. I'm talking about the moment milliseconds after that shot, or after landing that somersault, or hitting the bullseye. They get so excited and happy. They are blown away in that moment.  


You can see in their eyes that this one moment is a culmination of weeks, months, years, sometimes decades of preparation- and a coming to fruition of all the hard work they've put into their goal. 

I don't even like golf but I could probably cry in a second flat watching Tiger woods or Phil Mickelson win whatever tournament they're in. Every sport has that moment, and it is true to the word: Awesome. I love seeing people succeed. Part of what I love about it so much is that it is evidence that it CAN be done. I never get jealous of others' success because It is them showing the world that it CAN be done. Another part of it is that success is generally where God given talent and tons of hard work meet. 

I'm about to be a huge sports nerd so stick with me here-  there's a reason behind this. 

I read this very story once and I can't remember who connected all the dots or where I read it- please forgive that. But this story totally resonated with me. You can read an interview with Bannister here

In 1954 Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier.



 Can I get an Amen? 

Who does that? 

(I ran track in college- but I made it a policy to never run longer than 4 minutes consecutively, and never run a distance further than 200 meters. I'm only half joking because I did a LOT of running at a distance longer than 200 meters in order to train for my sprints. I digress...)

When interviewed Bannister said: 


" It didn’t seem logical to me, as a physiologist/doctor, that if you could run a mile in four minutes, one and a bit seconds, you couldn’t break four minutes. But it had become a psychological as well as a physical barrier." Source


The following years many more people broke the 4 minute mile barrier. Why did they do this? What was so special about the years following? Well, the essay I originally read on this topic explained this: The following runners saw it could be done- and that simple fact- that it had been done before- provided enough of a psychological shift for those other runners to do so. 

THAT is why I love seeing people accomplish things. Because their accomplishments, their shining bright  is giving US permission to do the same. 

THAT is why I started blogging. Because I have gained so much by other women sharing their stories, by seeing other women do AMAZING things. 

THAT is why I set goals this year that seem impossible to me. 

THAT is why I pray for seemingly-impossible blessings for this year.

xoxo 
emily 



Saturday, January 4, 2014

MY WORD FOR THE YEAR : [A LINK UP]


Hi everyone! Its been far far too long. Once I got my job I knew I needed to take some time to focus on that and renegotiating what life was going to look like with that. I've been getting into a new routine and spending as much extra time with the little one as I could.  Coach is in a very busy season with work ( we're talkin' 12-14 hour days up until his christmas break-) so when he had an hour or two to spare on the weekends we were spending that time together as a family. I also found that I didn't have much to say during that time either. It wasn't necessarily that I wasn't inspired, but I was thinking over a lot of things I wanted for this year and had less to say as a result. Now that it is the new year I have so much I want to share and lots of exciting plans. 


Today I'm linking up with Casey Leigh to discuss my word for the year: 


  I hope everyone's holiday was great- and that everyone's new year is off to a great start! I was never a resolution person in the past- always writing the new year off as a time when people make promises to themselves that they eventually do not keep. After a year of a LOT of transition for my family and I, I am hoping this year is one of calm and quiet preparation. We truly have no clue what the military has in store for us this year,  but I really want this year to be one where we reach some goals as a family and I overcome or achieve things that have been on my mind for a long time. I am going to spend the next little while talking about goals/ resolutions/  and what I want for myself in this new year. 


I've spent a lot of time praying for clarity, and not only to, as Bob Goff Says "see God's fingerprints" but to have peace of mind and conviction for what He wants for my life.  One of my favorite things to do every year starting with a few years ago has been to chose a word for the year. Even when I was not a huge resolution-maker I loved the idea of picking a word to define what I wanted the year to be about. Casey did this in the past and wrote about it- and that is what got me started on it. Now I'm seeing a lot of people do this, and I love it!  This year, my word is 

FEARLESS. 



Webster Defines it as "Lacking Fear". I don't mean that I will lack fear this year coming up- but rather I am going to FEAR LESS. And even when I am afraid, I am going to, as Lara Casey says, "feel the fear, and do it anyway". The synonyms listed below the definition were a better fit for what this word means to me. They are: 

bold, brave, courageous, intrepid, valiant, valorous, gallant, plucky, lionhearted, heroic, daring, audacious, indomitable, doughty. 


To be courageous is not to be without fear- but to feel it and do it anyway.
 





I struggle with fear, with worrying. My biggest fear is FAILURE. It still doesn't make sense to me why I fear this so much, but it is what it is. I have been reading a lot about athletes with the olympics coming up, and I've been reading about Roger Bannister (more on him soon). It seems almost every time I read about a successful athlete , failure comes up. And they always say they fail all the time, or that their failure now contributes to their future success. 



"One step short of success is not a failure. Failing is not a 'failure' if it gets you closer to success tomorrow." Lolo Jones 


Some of the goals I have in mind for this year are to overcome things; things that when I think about them I start to feel icky and my heartbeat quickens. But I'm just done with those things. And I feel unequivocally that this year- THIS year- I am to overcome those things so that I can trust more- so that I can do what I was put on this earth to do and just not be encumbered by things that have been dragging me down. 












And more than anything- that this is the year to overcome fear, and especially fear of failure. The only way to do that, however is to feel the fear and do it  anyway; and to realize that I won't in fact, turn into a pumpkin if I do face that which scares me the most. 







Next time I'm going to talk about watching other succeed and live their lives to fulfill their purpose. 


What is your word for this year? What is your hope for the year to come? 
 
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