My little sister and her husband completed their first (will there be more?) ironman this past Sunday. She and her husband followed a rigorous training program for most of the past year and they were already runners/bikers/swimmers before they started. An ironman course is 2.5 miles of swimming, 100 miles of biking and then a 26.2 mile run (a marathon) to finish it all off. They start at 7am and have till midnight to finish. Yikes!
How can I compare this to the holidays? Well, it is all about mental toughness. You have to have the right mental attitude to get through some of the craziness around the holidays, especially if you are having challenges with money, family, health, etc… These things can be challenging enough and if you add on the holiday expectations that we put on ourselves it can become overwhelming.
Getting older helps; really. Most of those amazing people I saw running by in the ironman were in their 40’s or older. There were a few younger ones and they had the most torturous looks on their faces. They have not lived through enough pain to realize that it would be over soon and time will keep on going. This wisdom can only come with years of perspective. The same holds true for the holidays. This time comes and goes so quickly and it takes years of practice to really enjoy the moments and not put too much pressure and stress on yourself to try and live up to some unrealistic expectations.
It’s all about choice; some say my sister and brother-in-law are a bit crazy to choose to put their bodies through such torture. I say they are amazing for going after a big goal and doing it. How will you choose to spend this last five and a half weeks of the year? Choose your moments and make it a great time.
Happy Thanksgiving! Much gratitude to you for reading my words and especially to those of you who made this blog a conversation by taking the time to add your comments!