Waiting versus Patience

When I first participated in Silverman, a full distance triathlon, in November 2005, I was fortunate enough to have “perfect” conditions. By perfect conditions, I mean the sun was out, the temperature felt just right, and most importantly, there was absolutely no wind to battle on the swim, bike, or run.

This year, I participated in Silverman again and I was counting on these “perfect” conditions. During my training, I would think to myself how the race was over for me if there was going to be any wind, because with even the slightest breeze, I felt like I could barely move on the bike. I kept thinking of last year’s race and that “perfect” weather would be in store again. Every time I woke up to the wind howling outside my window, all I wanted to do was stay curled up in bed and wait for the perfect riding weather to arrive. Of course, I ultimately knew that race day weather was an unknown and in order to prepare for this unknown, I had to train hard through these cold, windy days. So, as much as I wanted to stay in bed these cool, gusty mornings, I took that first step out of bed and then onto my bike in order to tackle the wind. The wind was the obstacle I had to conquer in order to feel prepared for the unknown weather that could occur race day, and it took patience of both mind and body to train through the windy days. I wanted perfect conditions, but I knew I could not just wait for the windy days to pass during my training. I needed patience of both mind and body in order to be best prepared for the unknown weather for Silverman 2006.

The idea of having the patience to work through the unknowns of race day instead of just waiting for the perfect day to come relate directly to every day life. Challenges and obstacles constantly try to block us in the process of reaching our goals and we often find ourselves in situations and places we never expected to be. However, when these challenges do occur we must continue to explore the boundaries, delve through the barriers, and discover new paths to take. We must have patience with our mind and our body to explore and learn the way to break through the barriers and to work through the challenges before us. We cannot just wait for our perfect day or our perfect dream to come about; we must personally take the initiative to move through the process to get there. Conditions are not always perfect but this does not mean that you do not try and you do not perform.

Likewise, if you just wait for the end to come, you end up missing the process and the journey to get to your goal. By having patience of mind and body to work through challenges, when you finally do meet your goals and your dreams, you can fully appreciate the journey it took to achieve your goal. Silverman 2006 ended up being one the windiest days I had seen. The water was choppy on the swim and the bike had 50 miles of headwind. Yes, it was hard, but because I had had the patience to work through the windy days during my training, I was confidant on race day that I could handle the wind. And I did. With these “bad” weather conditions, I ended up beating my previous year’s time (which occurred during “perfect” conditions) by over an hour and twenty minutes. Patience with mind and body while tackling obstacles in my course enabled me to reach my goal of finishing my second full distance triathlon at a time much faster than my first. I am sure that had I just waited for the perfect days to come during my training, I would have done much more poorly. But I had not waited. I had patience and ended up enjoying the entire journey to finish the way I did.

So, why do people wait? Why do people wait for their goals and dreams to just happen. Is it because of fear? Fear of change? Fear of breaking away from comforts? Is it fear of the unknown? Perhaps these are valid fears, but I believe that having the courage to be patient during hard times can get you through the challenges. In the words of Rollo May, “courage is not the absence of despair, but rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.” Don’t wait for an unknown tomorrow. Have the courage to make the unknowns possible by tackling them today with perseverance and patience.

-Becky Meldrum, Triathlete, Soul Acrobat