Twists and Turns

Every now and then...

...I marvel at how different our priorities can be.

In light of world record breaking achievements in the athletic arena of the Olympics, I find myself wondering what their lives must be like and what is motivating them to be so driven.

I am in aw of what the human body is capable of if one puts one’s mind to it, Olympic discipline or not; from acrobatics to ballet to parkour to freediving, and everything in between. And I can only imagine how the training would take over one’s life if it’s pursued at such high standards.

In high school, I had a few students who were training to be Olympic swimmers and that meant very early mornings and many hours in the pool before and after school. I don’t know what their schedule was like in any detail but it was obvious that they were juggling a lot with training, A-levels and something resembling a teenage social life. Even though I was only witnessing them from afar, they seemed to me to be under a lot of pressure and very driven.

And one day, just before the qualifying event for the next Olympics, one of them lost his father. His world fell apart, swim training stopped in its tracks and so did his vision of his future. His whole life went in a completely different direction as the dream of standing on that podium vanished.

The other day, I stumbled across a video about a woman who had been an Olympic athlete and she was sharing how everyone asks her whether she had won a medal, which she had not, just like the majority of participants...

We see the few seconds or minutes of any sporting event but not the day-to-day reality of how they got to there. We can watch documentaries and get some insights whilst sitting on our comfy sofa but not actually know what it feels like to be living their life.

As I said, I find it just so fascinating how differently we spend our time, attention and energy – and the meaning we give it along the way, and that is what I would like to explore a bit more over this month. - It’s my birthday month after all :)

Prompts to ponder:

• What has been your biggest achievement so far, and why?

• If you had a magic wand, what would you like to achieve in your lifetime?

• What/who do you admire most, and why?

• What could you add to your day or week that would include a bit of the above?