Journey or Destination???

I wanted to do a post about the whole LeBron James and the Miami Heat spectacle. While I think we can all agree that he entire “Decision” was over the top, I can honestly say that I think he made the wrong choice. I think he is looking for the easy way to get to the desire destination. If he thinks there was pressure on him to win in Cleveland, well just wait. Anything less than multiple championships by the Heat will mean failure.

MJ was recently asked about LeBron’s decision. Jordan said that he would have never called up Larry (Bird) and Magic and said, let’s play on one team. The reason why?? He wanted to beat the best. Magic Johnson has said the same thing. These guys were true competitors, and they loved to compete against each other. I like to compete against my friends. I think it makes things more fun and interesting. LeBron’s decision reminds me of the aging veteran player signing with a team that is a contender just to get a ring.

I read an article that I want to quote. I forget which article I read it from, but it describes something I think is missing in the sports world today.

“What is more important, the journey or the destination? I vote for the journey. The whole point of competition is the challenge. It’s testing yourself against the best. It’s pushing yourself to your absolute potential. But when you take shortcuts to make things easier on yourself, and all you have in your sites is that sparkling reward at the end, you’re missing the whole objective.”

As I read this quote, I immediately thought of my Ironman journey. I am sure I will always cherish crossing that finish line and hearing them say “You are now an Ironman”, but I will also remember all the cold early mornings I got out of my warm bed to train. I will remember all the runs in the rain and the blistering heat. I will remember all the blisters, aches and pains. I will remember flat tires, broken goggles and bad races I had. I will remember the journey it took to get me to that point. I will respect that journey we all take to get to the finish line. I will also know that it wasn’t handed to me; it took work, dedication and the support of my family. It IS the journey that makes the destination so sweet.

I asked my 10 yr old son to read the quote and asked him what he thought of it. His answer was “To not take the easy way”. He then said this sounded like something to post on his wall so he could read it every morning! That might not be a bad idea!

I understand that I am far away from winning an overall race or an AG. BUT, I am getting closer each year, slowly but surely I am improving and I get tremendous satisfaction from these little gains. Too many people want the easy way out, they want to get to Heaven but they do not want to die.

Personally, I like all the training and hard work. I like to see the improvements over time, I like to talk about the struggles I had swimming 6 laps and thinking it was a tough workout for me 3 years ago. I like that today, I can say a 4 mile run is a short run for me, but 3 years ago it might as well have been a marathon. It has definitely been a journey and I am not done with my journey!


****Coming Soon, Daily Trainings first ever giveaway!! More info in my next post***