I recently followed a good friend of mine as she competed in the Women’s Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. For those of you not in the world of triathlon, Kona is something you have to qualify for (kind of like the Boston Marathon for runners) – it is highly competitive and often a lifelong goal of endurance triathletes. It’s a BIG DEAL. My friend did her first Ironman earlier this Spring and effing qualified on her first go! Crazy! (As a reminder, an Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, followed by 26.2 miles of running. You have 16-17 hours to complete it, depending on the course.) AND she had been away from triathlon for 12 YEARS! AND is a mom of three young girls! Talk about SuperMAMA! Truly inspiring. (Bobbie, if you’re reading this, you are a BAD A$$!!!! So proud of you, lady!)
I share all of that because I was reflecting upon who inspires us and where our inspiration lies. Granted, that is a bit of an extreme example. I think most people are inspired by tremendous athletic feats (side note: I’m currently watching Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix … holy moly, talk about inspiration!). But if you look around you, I think you can find inspiration just about anywhere.
I am inspired by:
* two ladies at my gym who are both 7 months pregnant and still getting it done
* the woman at the gym who is carrying some extra weight and giving it her ALL!
* my husband, as he embraces a new school (high school), new grade level (mainly 9th grade), new subject area (ESOL), new dynamic (we have lots of long conversations about this…), and new schedule (5:15am wake-up for a non-morning person. That’s a pretty big deal!)
* my 2 year old son as he figures out the world around him. (he is currently trying to learn how to jump and it is the funniest sight!)
* the mom of three young kids who is working full-time and still building her side business after the kids have all gone to bed
* the person who is battling a life-threatening disease but still keeps a positive outlook on life
The list goes on…
Most of these people don’t even know that they inspire me. And you know what? There are a lot of people you are inspiring without even knowing it!
“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
~ Paulo Coelho
Keep doing you. Keep going after your goals. Keep up with the kindness. Because you never know who you are inspiring.