The Race I Wasn't Ready For
The lack of air scrunched up my chest.
My feet were drenched in unbearable pain. I still ran. I ran the 6km race.
My ankles were diminished, incapable of even walking up a step, there was no piece of evidence left saying that I could even run.
But I still did it.
Thirty gruelling minutes of my life spent running, laps across hills and tracks.
“Could I do it? “I wondered, “Could I even beat last place?”.
I couldn’t do it.
My body was physically punching me; forcing me to stop.
Then the race starter said “On your marks. Get Set. GO!”. And I was off.
Five seconds in, and I was already in the top three.
“I need to maintain this” I said. “I need to get a ribbon”.
I set my expectations to only winning. There were no thoughts that spiralled around me of losing.
I could visualise myself with the ribbon.
There was no back-up plan.
It was just getting top three.
One sixth there, and I was drenched with pain.
Halfway there and my injury had burst out of my legs and begun to spread across my body.
Then a quarter left, my calves had begun burning as if a heated iron had been glued to them.
I couldn’t do it.
But I was so close.
Just a few minutes away.
Then a few seconds.
Then the final sprint.
Having not even a second to glance backwards, I sprinted with every bit of strength left inside of me.
At the finish I slowed down, and I made it.
I got third.
“Wait… hold up” I thought, “I came third. I CAME TOP THREE IN THE WHOLE 6KM RUN”.
Then I collapsed.
I fell straight to the floor and lay there for a minute.
“PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!” yelled some teachers “KEEP MOVING”.
I got off with my ribbon and I sat down.
I realised something that changed everything.
It was my mindset that was the limitation. Not the injury. It was the belief.
This was the real barrier between the winning version of myself and the one who was scared to try.
No matter the physical limitations,
if it is possible, you can achieve it.
Despite the cost, it is achievable.
You may not want to put in the effort, but to become the person you want to be, you need to be able to keep pushing through in any condition.
Many wait.
They wait for everything to be perfect.
But the truth is that the conditions are already perfect as it can be.
Overthinking it is limiting you.
There is no day, where everything will be in your favour.
There will be ‘better’ or ‘worse’ days.
But not ‘perfect’ days.
If you go out there and give it a go, you will thank yourself later. The opposite is just as true.
Growth happens during the toughest times of your life.
If you don’t push to your limits, you won’t grow.
The major takeaway is, don’t let your pain hold you back.
Just go in and do it.
The Idea That Kept Coming Back
I was reading Diary of a CEO when a life-changing thought popped straight up in my mind.
“Why don’t I write a book like this to share my experiences and lessons”
I initially ignored this idea, thinking how could I produce anything good?
How can I even write this much?
People are going to make fun of me.
Every time I ignored the thought, it came back to me stronger than before.
I would come up with unbreakable concepts, while playing basketball, before going to bed, or even while sleeping.
I got furious, “why am I wasting my time with this level of thinking if I’m not going to take action?”.
Eventually it built up so much pressure, that one night I decided to change everything.
I pulled up a word document on my laptop and named it “Book Plan”.
While quickly recalling ideas that rolled through my head all at once, I managed to produce a plan that was possible to execute, completed with patience and dedication.
That simple action made me who I am today.
This article wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t taken that one simple action.
The action to start.
Final Thoughts
Taking the action to start is difficult.
You will feel ready if you just go and start it.
Your mindset will either free you or trap you.
Go and act now.
Stop waiting to start playing that sport.
Stop waiting to read that book.
Stop waiting to win.
Go in with the mindset of coming out with a win.
Just start messy.
Then get strong.
The world rewards those who start, not wait.
The world rewards those who start, not wait.