Who are your champions? And why do they matter?
Your champions are the difference between a goal being an idea, floating around in pretty curly script in your head, and an accomplishment that you look back upon proudly and build upon compoundedly. (I know that’s not a word. But it should be: compound accomplishments are like compound interest, right?)
How do you accomplish something that you don’t know if you can accomplish? How do you get everything you want when you have no idea where to start?
“You can do it. I believe in you. And, I will help.”
Those were the words my running coach said to me when he looked me in the eye the first day we met. It was 2011, and I was standing in front of him telling him that I’d run my first mile only a year earlier and that I planned to run the Boston Marathon five short months from then. I expected that he would pat me on the head and say in a mildly dismissive (but fully fair) voice, “Well, just do the best you can.”
But he did not.
Instead, Coach Rick stared into my soul and said, as calm as a lake without a single ripple, “You can do it. I believe in you. And, I will help.”
And, I stared back at him, as if hypnotized and said, “I can do it. You believe in me. And, you will help.”
That was all it took. I knew, from that moment on, that I could do it. I still had no idea how. I still had no idea why. But I knew I could.
If you’re new here, you should know that I concoct hare-brained, audacious plans for breakfast. It’s my best and worst trait. Yet, sometimes these dreams, which seem wildly exciting over corn flakes become intimidating during the long slog of the work it takes to make them a reality. But this is where finishers separate from wanna-bes. It’s in this choice that we make in this very moment.
This is when I consult my champions.
There is nothing like a champion looking at you — really, really looking at you, with all of your strengths and especially all of your challenges in plain sight — and telling you that you can do whatever it is that you want. “You’ve got everything it takes,” Coach Rick would say to me, “but it’s going to take everything you’ve got.”
It is champions like Coach Rick who are the difference between whether we remain comfortable with the status quo, or rise above what we ever thought possible. Good champions won’t just make you better, they will make you invincible, unstoppable, bulletproof. They will make you the best you that you can be. (Tweet this.)
And, why is this? Champions see that very best version of you. They see that person you aspire to be. They spot the glimpses of greatness and are able to project them onto your broader experience so that you can focus on the process without getting distracted about how overwhelmingly huge the result.
One thing I know is true is that the simplest way to get the confidence you need to do the things you want is to allow yourself to see you as your champions see you. If you are lacking stamina, absorb their enthusiasm until you have momentum. If you are missing confidence, borrow theirs until you believe it. If you are underselling your promise, hitch a ride on what they see until you can see it yourself.
So, what’s for breakfast?
P.S. I’m running Boston again! If you’d like to support me, you can do so here.
Champions
