“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.” Anonymous

Ever been afraid to "TRY" something?  I know I have.  The fear of not knowing if you are strong enough, smart enough, big enough, small enough, cute enough, or just plain enough for something can be terrifying!  But should that stop us?  Should we let our fear keep us from the most beautiful experiences in life?  I don't think so.  Beating fear is beating the things in your mind that say your body can't.  Beating fear is your body telling your mind "YES I CAN!"  But you have to try... I will try on Saturday.

Saturday is my day to re-Try something new.  Swimming in the open water.  Now, the long awaited wetsuit has finally arrived. ( Tangent:  It is exactly what we thought it was going to be... ugly!  Hahaha.  I look like a black teletubby in it.  Hilarious!  (Photos to come one day this week!)) On Saturday, I will be slipping it on and jumping in the SF Bay and attempting to swim!  Now, I know I can swim, when I am calm, the water is warm, there are markings on the floor, I can see, I can 'Touch' the floor (... insert my family and friends laughing), and the current is not so choppy.  Well, I am going to test my swimming in water that is totally opposite of all of these.  Am I afraid... well no and I will not let fear do that to me... but am I anxious... HECK YES!

But how will I/we overcome our fear and do the things we love if we never "TRY" anything?  Well... you don't unless you TRY!  By not trying, one misses out on experiencing a level of joy you will never know.  My favorite thing to do is ride down a long winding mountain on my bike at speeds a lot of people would be afraid of (30 to 40 mph).  But my least favorite thing to do is climb the mountain it takes for me to get to the top because what may take some people 20 and 30 minutes will take me 40 to 60 minutes to complete.  I can only climb at a top speed of 3 to 4 mph while I am sure others can climb at 6 to 10 mph.  If I let all the people passing me by or the grade of the mountain interfere with my goal of reaching the top, I will never know the feeling I have come to love.  And for me to enjoy the feeling of wind in my face, the speed of downhill, and the feeling as gravity pulls you faster and faster towards the bottom, I MUST KEEP CLIMBING TO THE TOP!  And I do... I keep TRYING!  Sounds like the lesson for living huh?

I encourage you to "TRY" something new this week.  Something BIG!  Try riding a bike, going for a walk, turning off the TV, doing a sit up, jogging, climbing a rock wall, walking up a hill, going to the gym, eating something new, dancing in public, going for a long drive or giving some random person who may need a hug a hug!  Just try it and experience the end result.  I guarantee you that once you have "crested" the mountain, the other side is pure bliss!

Make it a PHAT day friends!

Phat Athlete