I got lost today. Not so lost that I didn’t know how to get back to my car, but lost enough not to be able to provide support in the form of H2O that I was supposed to give my friends who were training for the upcoming Tough Mudder event. The idea was i would meet them along the track half way into their course and have a water station. That did not eventuate….
I picked up the water from the start and finish area and drove to another park entrance. I didn’t realise that I entered at the wrong spot. But despite the awkwardness of carrying the water, I persisted, thinking that the place that I would need to meet them was just up here, I must be close… I wasn’t
I just kept taking one more step and another and another…. A friendly runner named John stopped and helped me ( I was about 1.5km into it at this point) …..And still my mantra continued “It must be just up here” “Just keep going”. I then realised that I could check the map on my iphone to see where I was… I wasn’t on the right section of trails.
So with John’s help the water was carried right back to the other end of the park because it was closer to go to the other car park where everyone was finishing than to schlep it back to my car. At the end of the day, the runners brought water at a local petrol station they passed, no one died of thirst and I learnt these lessons.
*I am more stubborn than I thought I was – I just kept going without wanting to give up or “fail” (while this can be a strength, this can also be unhealthy and re-evaluation is an important skill I need to build in)
*I can achieve what seems impossible if I take one step at a time. If you had of told me this morning I would do that walk (since I haven’t been feeling great) I would have laughed. But I did Ok, I broke down the journey into manageable portions,, I had to take my time, and rely on others. This lesson can be translated to any journey or seemingly overwhelming project.
*Sometimes the human race surprises you, John was generous with his time, kind and helped me above and beyond.
*If it doesn’t work out to plan – find the good in the situation… Despite thinking that I had failed and got a teeny bit emotional about it all – People in the team worked together to solve their water crisis (thanks to a runner who carries cash on him) and I got a workout!
Overall it was a great day to enjoy outside! I love autumn and the mild clear days, there was an abundance of kangaroos bouncing everywhere, beautiful lake and bushland; and at the end of it all I got a coffee with friends; what more could you ask for…
Till next time, Lin xox
Living LIN 