don’t be a victim.

Two days ago, I thought about doing this entry while on a 195km bike ride, and then during my nearly 2 hour run immediately after the bike, I wrote this entry in my head.
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Back at the end of 2009, one of the marketing team forwarded me a link from a triathlon forum on the Runner World site.
The link was to a forum which was talking “smack” about this blog, but mainly “smack” about me.

There were 20+ people, all British who, to use a british expression, were taking the complete piss out of me…
I think the majority of the people were from an ironman triathlon club called the “Pirate Ship of Fools.” 

The negative comments were mainly about my lack of real achievement in the ironman, or ultra marathon arena …

Also,  they all seem to misunderstand an Ayn Rand quote I use in my blog:  “man’s ego is the fountainhead to human progress.”

When I got the link, I had just arrived back from Dubai to my home in France – at the time, I was working in our Monaco office, and that night I stayed up to 2am reading each comment, and even reading up on the profiles of some of the people posting the negative comments about me.

I was curious why people would waste their time being so negative. 

The captain of the negative comments was from a man named “Candy.” 
Reading up on his profile, I read he had completed a couple 100 mile races, a few ironman and even completed a “triple ironman.”  (At the time, I didn’t know such a race existed).

Anyways..

Although I disagree with senseless negativity, I reflected on what the people were saying.

Essentially, I had three different paths to choose from: 

one – I could ignore it, and remain numb to their comments – after all, I’m not doing this blog to make friends, and I don’t care what people think of me.

two– I could feel sorry for myself, and be a “victim” … those British cocks don’t know what they are talking about.

three – I could take the comments for what they were – after all, they were saying the truth.  Up until then, I had never done an ironman. 
Whatever physical challenges I had done were nothing in comparison to a “triple ironman” or a “100 mile” run; nothing in comparison to what many of the people posting the negative comments had/have achieved. 

Life is often like this.

We face something we don’t like  – whether it’s a boss, husband, wife, coach, friend, telling us something we don’t want to hear, but in reality it is the truth. 

We can be a “victim” and feel sorry for ourselves – after all, it’s not fair … 

Or we can take on the “criticism” or “input” … and “reflect” on what is being said, and make the necessary changes to become better. 

I think I decided the next day to start training for a 100 mile race, and a few weeks later I bought the first bike of my life, so I could start training for an ironman. 

Over the past 18 months, several of these people have become my friends.  

That Robert Frost quote which is at the top right of this blog … so many people quote it, but how many people are actually living it?

The road less traveled…

I could have felt sorry for myself and ignored those assholes – but if I had been a “victim;”  if I had felt sorry for myself, I wouldn’t have gotten into doing ironman’s.

I would have never swum the English channel, and surely, I would have never put myself physically, in a situation where I can attempt to do 7 ironman in 7 days.

This entry is NOT about me.

It’s not about the Pirates or some of the cocks who have since become my good friends…

Seriously.  Don’t be a victim. 

How do you handle criticism?

What do you do when your boss, husband, wife, best friend, etc.  tells you something you don’t want to hear, but in reality what is being said is the truth?

Our world is so full of “victims” … people who just sit around feeling sorry for themselves.

I wonder what I would be doing right now had I taken the road most traveled…and just felt sorry for myself.

I certainly, wouldnt be getting ready for my 12 hour training day, the 4th day of a 7 day training week.