A couple of weeks ago I completed an Ironman 70.3. For those of you wondering what that means, I swam 1.2 Miles, rode my bike 56 Miles and then ran 13.1 Miles all in the same day. It was quite an accomplishment that took me just over 7 hours to complete.
About 100 yards into the swim I almost quit. It was a mass start. About 400 people all jumped into the water at the same time and we began to swim. There were people all around me. As I would turn my head to the left to breathe, there would be a face right in my face. The same thing happened when I turned to the right to breathe. There were hands and feet all over my body. I felt like I was being mauled and attacked in the water and I panicked. I really did panic. I felt like I could not breathe and I began to get water in my mouth every time I tried to breathe. I decided to quit and started swimming for a boat that I saw outside of all the swimmers to my left.
As I moved to the left I took several blows from those that were swimming. Flailing arms hit me in the head and back. It was a battle just to get to the outside. I was in trouble and nobody seemed to care. They just whacked me as they went by.
I finally made it to the outside and the water was calm. My panic disappeared and I was able to see that the goal was still in sight. With his renewed vision I decided to swim on, keeping myself on the outside of all the swimmers. I remembered my training and I continued on to the eventual completion of the race.
The race was challenging. Many that started did not finish. Some finished with what seemed to be little effort because they were so well trained. Others struggled to finish and some how hung on to complete the race.
I continue to think about my experience in that race and how it is a lot like the financial crisis that is going on right now. There are many people right now who are flailing away in panic. Every day they spend too much time watching the stock market or the election news. They have lost sight of their vision. The ability to focus on the positive is disrupted with so much negative news. Some are ready to quit – some are just barely holding on. They need to move to outside so they can see their vision again.
There is no need to be so upset about what is going on. It has all happened before and it will all happen again. If we focus on the problems they will consume us. If we focus on the opportunities they will consume us. I would rather be consumed with opportunities than problems.
There is only one way to see the opportunities. In order to do so, we must move to the outside and get away from those that are flailing away in panic. Staying in the fray for too long is dangerous. Some will say that if they don't stay in the mix they will be uniformed. I say we get what we focus on. If we want to see the negative then we will become negatively influenced. If we choose to see the positive then we will become positively charged.
Does that sound too good to be true? Consider this, from 1970 to 2000, there were 45,000 studies conducted on depression, psychosis, and other forms of mental illness. During the same time a mere 300 studies were conducted on topics related to human joy, mental health and well-being. Do you know what happened to the number of people who reported that they suffered from depression during that time period? It increased by a factor substantially more greater than at any other time. The increase was disproportionate to any other time period. Do you know that despite the fact that most people reported higher income levels, they also reported being less happy that at any other point in their life. We were consumed as a nation with all the depression that was being studied and reported. What we focus on becomes our reality.
Get out of the fray. Stop watching the news. Go after your dreams. Some of them will be easier to go for right now than at any other time. Don't waste this opportunity wallowing in the mud. Some of them will be more difficult and you may have to wait to pursue them. Some are just waiting for you to go for it. Get up and go for it.
There are not enough tomorrows left for me to put off my dreams just because of what is going on in the world. Now is my time to reach and raise the bar. I hope you will join me.
See you on the road!
Andrew
