Lessons learnt from the sideline
This past weekend I had the amazing privilege of supporting my husband and a few of our friends compete in a two-day trail running stage race. At first (and leading into the weekend) I had terrible FOMO, because as you should know by now, I love taking part in most types of competitive events. Later as I was reflecting on the weekend I realised a few things that I would like to share with you.
- You need people rooting for you, people on the sideline, supporters. Running the race, doing the work, showing up in our various roles is a whole lot more difficult without support. Be sure to thank and celebrate your supporters. And if you are the person in the supporting role, realise your value and contribution in terms of helping other people, teams and organisations achieve their goals.
- Pick your crowd. Some of the athletes who were surrounded by people who made race day a whole lot harder than it had to be. When we choose our crowd deliberately, when we surround ourselves with people who make things fun, lighthearted and worthwhile it makes even difficult things a whole lot easier.
- Plan, but also get stuck in. When you line up to start a race for the first time you plan your strategy from the position of the unknown. But when you have actually completed it you get to reflect and share your experience. Sometimes we get so caught up in the plan, or so overwhelmed with the uncertainty that it keeps us from actually ever starting. But once you have started, you have tried, you are able to use that experience to make adjustments and get better. Remember the age old adage: you will never know unless you try.
- Never underestimate the value of preparation and effort. I was amazed by how a little bit of preparation can make a huge difference – not in terms of the outcome perse but in terms of the experience. The effort made the experience more rewarding. The reality is that the outcome is not something we have much control over but our effort in preparation is. Effort and preparation is most certainly not always fun. Getting up on a Sunday morning when everyone is sleeping in to go train is most certainly never easy or fun – but when you run the race and cross that finish line it will make that experience so much more rewarding.
- Whether you come first or last we can all choose to celebrate. I loved seeing the last people to cross the line. Some of them celebrating crazily, it was so cool to watch. I was wondering what they were celebrating. In life we don’t know what race everyone is running or why they are competing. Lets be kind. Lets sincerely celebrate when other people win. Even if they finish last. Because we just don’t know.
As we do every week, we’d like to thank you for reading. We sincerely appreciate it. Have a great weekend!
Here is a picture of my husband finishing the race, still looking fresh!
At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
