Haters
Despite the recent buzz and influx of positive vibes surrounding the recent running of Ironman Wisconsin, there have been those that seek to challenge those vibes with a strange negativity of their own. I’m not sure where the negativity stems from? Maybe they weren’t hugged enough as children? Or ever given a cake with candles to blow out on their birthday? I suspect something like that anyway, as I don’t know why else someone would choose to feed on other peoples’ misfortunes. It’s quite sick though and I can’t help but wonder what runs through the minds of these folks on a regular basis?
Still, I feel sorry for them. Sorry that they can only ever see the negative for with every bad situation there is some good that can be made of it if you stop sulking and just look. I do believe that there is a silver lining to each and every cloud. That, more or less, everything happens for a reason whether we realize it immediately or not. Some of my best lessons learned in life are from things that I’ve experienced that I would hardly categorize as “good”.
Much like in training where our bodies are broken down, allowed to recover, and come back stronger, our minds also work this same way. When we experience hardships that break our resolve, ultimately we realize that we still have a purpose here and that life continues on. You can choose to pick up the pieces and learn from the experience or you can sulk and wallow in misery. The latter seems like no way to live.
Simply put, it takes big dreams to accomplish big goals. It’s sad that some folks don’t like to dream big or that they choose to sit back and criticize others instead of accomplishing something magical for themselves. It’s not fair and it’s not right to judge. That duty is left for one Man and He alone.
So I leave you this morning with this. One of my favorite quotes and one that really sums up everything that I’ve written above.
Dare to dream… BIG!
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt