I recently did a podcast with Dave Ruzycki at The Heart of Teaching. We didn’t know exactly where the conversation would go, so I left it up to him to create the title for the podcast once it was created. And to my surprise, it made me smile when I saw the title “Lessons with Lauren”. Perfect. Relevant. Relatable.
The lessons from this sport happen almost daily, and it’s amazing where the inspiration comes from. It’s not always the highs that give you the biggest lessons, in my experience, it’s also the lows that give some of the biggest lessons. It’s also not always the ‘picturesque’ moments, it’s times like last week where I was putting a surge up a hill and instead of wishing the two ladies on my right “have a great ride!”… I tossed my head to the left and projectile puked all the contents from my last aid station stop (more ‘solid foods’ – less water was the lesson there).
In the podcast I shared these 3 lessons, and yes! There are soooooo many more! But as for today, I wanted to share my further thoughts and reflection as to what they mean to me.
- Find and follow something you love – and pursue it to the best of your ability
- I got the triathlon bug in 2010, and even though most people may find it amazing how MUCH I put into the sport… but I’m always amazed how much I GET out of the sport. New experiences, new opportunities, friendships, comradery, travel, life lessons, self-discovery. I love it! And even though my projection in the sport isn’t always linear, I continue to work at and pursue it to the best of my ability. True champions aren’t always the ones that win. They’re the ones that don’t accept defeat, and simply keep working at something they love (because why aren’t we all pursing something we love, care about and fuels our fire?). And there are certainly days where I’ve failed or missed or lost – on that day – but I keep working at it and moving forward, over and over again. And guess what? That’s what makes success. Cause guess what again? Success is usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize it ; )
- “Never lose your sense of wonder”
- This is a quote I have as a tattoo on my forearm. It’s from a Lee Ann Womack song “I hope you dance” (which is quite sentimental to me, as the song has been a wish for me since childhood from my dad). To me, it’s important to never lose my joy, my humor, my tenacity and fire for the things I love. So this quote reminds me to never lose my sense of wonder, curiosity, creativity, and kindness. I think it also helps to keep curious; release expectations, actively learn new things, enjoy the little things and expect ‘good’.
- Keep your glass full
- There’s a saying I continue to remind myself of “you cannot pour from an empty cup” – and it’s so true! It has taken me a long time to learn that self-love is not selfish. It’s important to make yourself a priority. I know that when I am full of self-love, I make better choices, attract better relationships and open the doors to better opportunities in my life. And if I want to be the best version of myself, I know I need to take care, believe, be proud, be confident, be happy, be unaffected by judgement, and not dwell on the experiences that shaped me… because how I love myself is how I teach others to as well. So be patient, have compassion and respect your own journey. There’s so much to learn.
