EXCERPT FROM: “A Life Without Limits: A World Champion’s Journey” by Chrissie Wellington
“…But one of my resolutions going into 2000 was to be less hard on myself. Eating meat again was a step forward in that respect. Yes, there is an element of hypocrisy and therefore, to me, a loss of self-control, a weakness. But we all have weaknesses. Accepting that reality has been one of my greatest challenges, and still is.”
I’ve always shown a strong, confident and independent face to the world. My friends tell me that I often amaze them with the things I’ve done (like train for and race in a triathlon, fly a helicopter, partake in a cattle drive, pull up roots and move to a new town all by my lonesome) and the things I have planned (like entering a half marathon).
Yet, I often feel like a fraud because, somewhere deep inside my psyche, there’s a part of me I call my Inner Critic who believes that anything I do is never “good enough.”
This drive — this need — for perfection sucks the life out of my life! That’s because all the negative self-talk weighs down my spirit to the point where it feels like just getting out of bed requires Herculean strength much less putting on my clothes to train or workout for that upcoming race.
It’s eye-opening to realize that I share a quality with a four-time Ironman® world champion — the struggle to realize that we’re only human, that weakness is a part of what makes us human, and to accept this truth is a part of our journey in this life.
So instead of focusing on so-called “weaknesses,” let’s accept them, learn from them, and work with them to make ourselves better, healthier and stronger people.
