I decided to call this series "Ancient" because I'm old and "Lessons" because it's what I learned and although I'd like to call it wisdom, who am I to judge how wise these musings are. The definition of wisdom is "knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life." I am not a scholar but that's not really how i view wisdom. I view it as something that will be of use to others as they go through life. I have had a lot of experiences that have given me knowledge but I'm not sure how much they would help others.
But enough of the philosophical...let's get down to the meat of the this first lesson.
It's simple: Process over Outcome.
Pay attention to the outcome or as John Wooden said "Focus on the journey and the destination will take care of itself."
I learned this early on but not early enough. From the time i was four I knew i was going to be a doctor (God had told me so) and as a result, everything i ever did was focused on becoming a doctor.
I eventually made it but on the day of graduation from medical school, i felt despondent and depressed. "Now what?" I thought and "is that all there is?"
You see, i had focused only on becoming a doctor, not on what i really was learning along the way. Even more importantly i never once thought about what i would do once i "became" a doctor. I was focused on the destination.
I have learned with all the races I've done to enjoy getting there and I don't' only mean all the long drives I've done but the training and getting ready and feeling excitement BEFORE getting there. Making sure you find joy in what you're doing on a daily basis and in training (thanks Scotty). Have fun, planningi your training, reviewing what's going well and what needs tweaks (remember there is no failure, there is only feedback but that's another whole post).
Enjoy everything about every day. Who did you meet? Who did you talk to? What did you feel good about? How were you of service today? What do you want to do better tomorrow? Don't just let the day rush by like water down the drain. Cherish each moment. Your kids, your family, your friends will all get older really quickly if we don't just stop to take it all in.
Take some time to reflect on your life - and make no mistake about it, this is hard. Have you focused only on the destination but not enjoyed every day it took to get there? If you are honest, I bet you'll find several of those occasions. Now ask yourself what you can do to change that so that you enjoy every single moment of your life no matter where you end up.
Ponder this for the week and there will be more Ancient Lessons in the weeks to come
