*This is a note where I recount the experience I had as a Track and Field athlete in a 400-meter dash event representing the School of Business and Management for my very first (and last) active participation of Xavier University’s Annual Intramurals. I relate this experience with valuable life lessons which I believe you can use to live a more meaningful life. Enjoy!
8:10AM. Sunday. Pelaez Sports Center Oval.The Scorching Hot Sun. Sweating. Breathing Heavily. In Lane 1. In my ready to run position. In a loud and forceful voice, “HANDAAAA!” the official said. In approximately 1.5 seconds, “BAAANG!” goes the starting gun. I dashed immediately while exhaling by letting out a big roar to both increase blood circulation and to, hopefully, intimidate the seven athletes I’m going against. I ran the first 100 meters through a quick and tiptoed dash. “Check” I said to myself as I made a mental note on my 400 meter race strategy. Now, to do long strides for the 2nd 100 meters. I did exactly that and a lot of shouting and ranting to let out the pain in my lungs and legs and to intimidate the opponents who I guess thought of me as a crazy maniac who was going to kill them if they don’t get their butts moving. I never mind what people thought, it was part of the strategy. Now, for the 3rd 100 meter lane which was very tricky. I sticked to my game plan by increasing the pace of my speed. By this time, I was very exhausted that I would do just about anything to crash in the rubberized floor to rest. Yet, I was elbow to elbow with the top two runners of the race. The plan was going smoothly but when the last 100 meters came up, I really felt that my lungs were going to drop in the floor and my feet were in burning sensation. I felt my hands and body shaking. I decided to slow a bit down because I felt I was in a comfortable lead. Yet, after doing so, I felt more tired as I slowed down. By this time, I had two choices: run like hell or give up. Athletes call this situation “The Wall.”It is that time when you do something physically hard and you ask yourself whether it’s worth continuing or not. Unfortunately, in my case in this race, I decided to let go and let the pain in my body do the ruling. I hesitated. I slowed down. Lost my lead as one racer after another passed me by. Eventually, I finished the race. Not necessarily last place but, for me, it made no difference because I wasn’t able to win the place I was vying for: 1st Place.
Of course, like any human being, I felt bad. After the race, I went on my way to home and said to myself the following statements repeatedly,
“I could’ve won the race if I didn’t hesitate!”
“I let my SBM family, team, coach, family, future children, future grandchildren, future wife, myself and God down.”
“I’m so weak.”
Yes, it was one heck of pity party. But as I rode the jeepney going home, I reflected on this experience and thought it wasn’t really that bad at all. In fact, I was able to gain a lot of learnings which a medal I doubt can’t give. My readers, I would like to share to you some of the valuable lessons I learned in this experience as I relate it to the life we live. Life is like a race:
Lesson #1: On Facing Failure. I have never known or met a successful person who has success after success as stepping stones. When I think of highly successful people, I think of Michael Jordan who made a lot mistakes in his career, Walt Disney who was fired in a newspaper company because he lacked imagination, Abe Lincoln who was a failure almost his entire life and Jose Rizal who was physically not strong and was teased and criticized a lot (and I mean a lot) by people. Relating to life, we got to accept that we can’t win all races. What is important is that when we face failure in life, we learn from it and move forward. There are a lot of athletes whose careers went downhill and people who live miserable lives because they can’t accept a particular experience where they experienced failure. Don’t be one of them. Fail Forward!
Lesson #2: On Taking Responsibility. In my 400 meter race experience, I knew that I didn’t give my best and I made mistakes. In life, we make a lot of stupid mistakes but, unfortunately, what we do is we make excuse after excuse to cover up our mistakes. Inevitably, we can’t move forward in life if we’re too busy covering up our mistakes instead of taking responsibility and living life forward. Let’s face it, we are humans and we commit mistakes all the time. The best way to handle a mistake is not to deny it but to accept it, take responsibility and to learn from it.
Lesson # 3: On Kissing People’s Asses. My SBM Family, team, coach, friends, parents and other people (not to mention this girl I like a lot who was also watching!) may be disappointed that I didn’t win the race. Some said that it was “sayang.” Some may be looking down, are angry or pitying at me. Of course, I felt bad that I let these people down. Yet, when I come to think about it and in the final analysis, I learn that the only persons I’m accountable and answerable to is myself and God. In life, there are times where we disappoint the expectations of people because of the mistakes we make and the failures we have. During these hard times, the only persons who you need approval of are yourself and God. No one can love you the way you are capable of loving yourself especially during the hard times in your personal life. And, finally, you base your approval on God because, being your Creator, He wants what’s best for you. If you allow yourself and God to love you, people will do the same. It’s definitely hard to love people who hate themselves.
Lesson # 4: Don’t Hesitate. The biggest mistake I made during the race was that I hesitated to give my best in finishing the last 100 meters because I had doubts whether my body can take it or not. By hesitating, I didn’t win the race which is something we all experience in life if we have doubts whether we want something or not. The only people who are successful and significant in life are those who know what’s important for them. Upon knowing these important things, they allocate all their resource on those important things. Those who are not happy in life are those who hesitate to not know what they want or, if they know, hesitate to go for it because of fear.
Lesson # 5: On Conquering Yourself. During the race, I was not competing with other athletes but with myself. Frankly (and not being arrogant), my competitors during the race weren’t that fast. I could’ve beaten them all but I didn’t because I allowed myself to subordinate winning the race and, instead, I gave into my body pain. This is not an excuse but an admission that I allowed the weak side of me to conquer the strong side. In life, each and one of us can beat everybody because we can beat anyone one way or another. Yet, the conquering of yourself is a greater challenge than the conquering of others because you’ll be facing yourself for the rest of your life. With that, you’ll constantly be facing challenges that you impose to yourself which can only be conquered by you and only you. And just when you thought you’ve conquered yourself, another challenge arises. If you’re able to conquer yourself, you can conquer anything in life.
Having arrived home after a long jeepnye drive, I breathe a sigh of relief and felt an inner peace knowing that what I just experienced was something not necessarily positive in the eyes of people but something memorable which will equip me in living the significant life I intend to live. Life, indeed, is like a race. We win some and lose some. It can be a marathon, a sprint, a triathlon or, simply, a jog. We run along with others who run for different reasons. Yet, whether fast or slow, correct posture or not, as we cross the finish line, we go through and learn a lot of valuable lessons in this wonderful race we call Life.
Enjoy The Race!
Special Thanks To The Following:
SBM Family- for the opportunity to honor you and for the full support.
SBM Athletic Team (Men and Women)- You're all good people. You have so much to give to the world. Keep the fire burning!
Intramurals Committee- for the intramurals where we can promote a healthy lifestyle and show to the world our talents and skills.
Parents-for the baon and motivation.
Yaya-for waking up early in the morning to cook my breakfast.
God- for this healthy body which has been given to me as a gift to do His great works!
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