Disney Employee Engagement Speaker
Five daily blogs about life's 5 big choices on five different sites.
Because we see it every time we visit Lane 8, we don’t see it any more.
The tag line.
Huh?
The tag line beneath the title, Lane 8, at the very top (header) of this page”
“If your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.”
As soon as I start taking the most important things for granted, I lose. Are ya with me?
Here’s my personal favorite tip to stay motivated:
Who’s going to be more passionate and concerned for your motivation than you?
Seriously. Who?
Studying others who’ve overcome obstacles is just one way. It’s one of my favorite ways. Steve Prefontaine, a rebel, also happened to be a runner.
And in the process, with his relentless courage and determination, he changed the way Americans thought, and continue to think, about running. He held every American running record from 2,000 – 10,000 meters.
In his greatest race at the 1972 Munich Olympics, he finished fourth. No medal. No glory. No hero’s welcome.
But yet, he’s the only athlete Nike has ever immortalized in a bronze statue. Ever. Any sport. Period.
What is Lane 8?
Lane 8 is the worst lane in Track & Field. Fast runners are put in the middle lanes and slower runners are assigned the outer lanes. The slowest competitor is always assigned Lane 8.
And in the 400 meters, which I compete in, you stay in your lane the entire race. The way the starting lines are staggered, makes it look like Lane 8 is way out in front, when in fact, it’s the exact same distance as the others.
So many consider lane 8 the worst lane because you cannot see any of the other competitors, until they pass you.
My goal is to be in Lane 8, the worst lane. And I also don’t care if I come in last. Seriously.
Our son (9) says, “Dad, you want the worst lane and you don’t care if you come in last?”
(Pause for effect, and read each of the next three sentences with decent pauses in between)
“That’s right, son, Lane 8. In the finals. At the World Championships.”
I continued the answer for our son, “You can come in last and still be the eighth best in the entire world.”
I then shared the moral of the story with our son:
“You can go through life and set the bar low, reach it, but then live with the regret of wondering what you could have done if you tried harder. Or, you can set the bar ridiculously high, fail, and yet live with peace because you know in your heart you did your very best.”
Ya with me?
Lane 8 is happy the left heel pain was minimal yesterday. It’s sort of funny how easy it can be to find joy and happiness. We get so busy in our daily activities that we can rob ourselves of the simplest of joys.
Every morning I check out the window as dawn gives way to sunrise. The sunrise is always beautiful, even when it is “ordinary”.
Two days ago there was a Facebook post on my wall, asking for prayers for a teenage friend who committed suicide. This is a horrific tragedy. One none of us can comprehend.
The basic act of thinking of a Family (one you never met) and the grief that is overwhelming everyone they know, can be a humble joy. Believing that your thoughts and feelings for them may in some way comfort them.
Part of what makes Lane 8 blog posts about health and wellness so much fun to write about is that every once in awhile, if I feel like it, there is editorial license to blog about something else. This also makes Lane 8 happy.
Confused? Yes.
In pain? Yes.
Why?
That’s what is confusing. Why is the left foot pain returning?
It’s always something isn’t it? There’s always something that is in front of us that tempts us to want to stop doing what we know we can’t stop doing.
Always has been. Always will be. Getting so impatient with this that a cortisone shot is looking very tempting – cortisone is something I swore I wouldn’t do.
Yet my podiatrist and I agreed, in March, that we should try one shot.
Now I’m seriously thinking about a second. Remember, I swore I’d never do a single shot. Now I’m thinking about a second. Good luck with your temptations today.