Good Morning, Friends!!
Eighteen years ago, I did my first-ever 5k run. My first 5k was with my wife, Kim. In the last eighteen years, I have done countless events from road bike events, to mountain bike, to triathlons, to obstacle events, and many, many half marathons, some with Kim but many without her on the course.
For every event, she has been waiting for me at the finish line. She claps, she smiles, she hoots, she hollars, and she always tells me, as I come up to the finish line, You did it and then once I cross, she gives me a big hug and tells me how proud she is of me.
There are times I crossed the finish line injured. There are times I crossed the finish line upset with my performance. There are times I crossed the finish line and didn’t want to talk to anyone. There are times I crossed the finish line and never wanted to cross another finish line. There are times I crossed the finish line thinking if I had just pushed a little harder or trained a little more. I crossed the finish line with so many emotions and thoughts.
One thing that has never changed over all those years, no matter how I cross the finish line, is Kim’s excitement for me for crossing the finish line, knowing no matter what I say, I will line up again next time at the start line and head to the finish.
She is my biggest cheerleader!
We need to be a cheerleader for ourselves, like Kim is for me. No matter what I have been through on the course, she cheers me on at the finish.
There are all sorts of things that affect us on the running course of life. Some are physical, some are emotional, some are mental, but we keep pushing towards the finish line. At the finish line, we reflect on all the negative things that happened on the journey towards the finish line.
I challenge each of us to cheer ourselves on as we cross the finish line because no matter what has happened on the course, we made it. Once we cross the finish line, we can reflect on things we can improve on as we get ready to head to the next start line.
Kim has had a lot of practice over the years, cheering me on no matter what my face may look like. We need to do the same, practice our cheer for ourselves. We can’t be expected to get it right the first time. That is why it is called cheer practice.
There will be another start line.
There will be another finish line.
How will you cheer for yourself at the finish line?
Your Friend,
Aaron