Check Your Ego at the Door

This weekend as we walked around the race expo in Penticton we saw allot of silly athletes wearing compression socks, walking with their chest puffed out like they were Gods gift to man, and we heard allot of people talking about how great they are as athletes. And there were some amazing ones there for sure! Then on Monday as I stood in line for 2.5 hours only to have the privilege of giving Ironman $603 a year in advance to torture myself for 10+ next year (great deal huh?) I met another guy who ONLY wanted to talk about himself the entire time. He told me about how is the fastest runner in his town, he wins every race he ever does, this was his 3rd IM in a year, blah blah blah. For every comment I had, he had a better one-about himself! He stood there for 2 hours blabbing like that and then walked away. I was really confused, I thought he wanted to sign up. I think he just wanted to find someone he could talk to that couldn't escape! Ugh!

What's my point? I realized something that I feel like I've known for a while but it really hit home even more this past weekend. Triathletes (and many other people and athletes) are selfish, self absorbed SOBs! Man, they like to talk about themselves and brag about their results, how good they are, that their $5,000 bike is the best thing ever, etc. It goes on and on. I can't say I'm not guilty of this and I do think a healthy amount of pride is OK. It helps drive us forward, establish goals for ourselves, and makes us strive for something more. Ego, not so much.

I defined the two. Notice the difference!

Pride: a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
Ego: an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. - John Wooden

I got to thinking about how I can use the talent in sport that I have and some of my free time to turn it towards someone or something other than myself. Triathlon is such an individual sport. I/we train mostly alone, I/we race by our self (opposed to in a team), I/we strive to better our PRs, I/we spend allot of our extra income on fancy new gadgets, I/we sacrifice special moments in our friends/families lives because we have to train or go to bed early, etc. I know because I do it!

There are so many great things being done in various sports arenas like raising money for cancer and other diseases (Team in Training, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Susan G Komen), the list goes on forever. I think there are so many athletes out there that are all about ME ME ME and sponsor ME, give ME something for something I did and never use the platform they've been give to do something good for someone else! Chrissie Wellington and Lance Armstrong (LiveStrong Foundation) are perfect examples of athletes that use what they have to give back. The way Lance uses his fame, talent, time, and money is a phenomenon like we've never seen before-It's the Lance Factor. And I see Chrissie in the beginnings of doing the exact same thing. OK, maybe some people thinks Lance is a jerk. I've met him a couple times and he was always friendly. It doesn't matter though, he is using his platform to change the world in one giant way! Kudos to him.

Anyways, I've always been overwhelmed, inspired, and touched by the paralympic and disabled athletes. We all take for granted our health and limbs daily I think, whether we're in sports or not. I find it incredible that when these disabled athletes are faced with such drastic life changes, they don't let it stop them. They get right back up and keep going. I'm not sure I'd be that strong! When I'm racing and I'm suffering and I see these athletes out there it humbles me and makes me realize just how damn lucky I really am. I also have a desire to help get kids involved in sports and more active. The obesity epidemic is staggering and if kids would just play outside more, get involved in sports at a young age, and not eat junk food we'd be setting up future generations for success. Obesity in children is an entirely different post for later.

I'm inspired to make a difference, even if it's a small difference I don't care! I want to give back to the sport. I do a little already by volunteering my time to coach the CU Triathlon team but I want to help those that are less fortunate that me. There is an organization called the Challenged Athletes Foundation with a fantastic mission to help the challenged and disabled athletes. I want to get involved! I'm not sure how yet but stayed tuned! I've also had a desire for a long time to be a guide for a blind athlete! I think that would be such an incredibly rewarding experience.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi

Watch this, you will be inspired, I promise! Jim McLaren just passed this week (RIP) and I really hope there are allot more people in this world like him! What can you do to make a difference, big or small?