I just did something I didn’t picture myself doing…ever. I competed in a triathlon. After making my way through the race, I can safely say that I have a new-found respect for those athletes that do the Ironmen or even half-Ironmen triathlons. The mental and athletic fortitude needed to complete those challenges is borderline superhuman. From my small intro into the mindset of a triathlete, I have gained some invaluable lessons.
First lesson learned was that completing any challenge that you face is most nearly 80% mindset and 20% skill set. You have to be somewhat athletically inclined to even sign up for a triathlon, but in all honesty, the mindset is what ultimately makes or brakes the completion of the challenge. My favorite quote on mindset and persistence is often attributed to Calvin Coolidge who said “nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Give this a minute to sink in.
The second lesson I learned is that you don’t always know what your limits truly are. There were many times when I thought I was done for (especially during the swim…), but yet I still pushed myself even further. We all have our internal motivations that can push us past our limits both physically, mentally, and even emotionally. Michael Jordan has a great quote about self-imposed limits saying that “limits, like fear, is often an illusion.”
So when your facing a struggle that seems to push you past the point of no return, remember that you can complete the challenge if you have the right mindset and that the limits that you think are holding you back are really no more than an illusion!