Are Your Experiences Really Enough?

I started writing this article on the drive down to Busselton for the Half-Ironman event this weekend.Being the day before the event, the conversations in the car milled around the usual topics that pre-race jitters bring up: training dramas; personal timing; event pacing; food need before and during the event; the respective cut-off times and tips for doing the quickest transitions…

A group of us travelled in convoy and this has reminded me of my running days of old – travelling to the larger events away from home. Taking part in a long distance event could take up to a week at times as we usually extended our stay for a small holiday.A good example is how we planned a 3-week European trip around the Geneva marathon. I wanted to do a marathon in Heidi-land (Switzerland).

But thinking back now - I can’t remember the time I ran for that marathon, but I can remember the restaurants we ate at the week before; the feeling of being an “international runner” in a foreign race; I recall the sights and the sounds around the lake; seeing Ipods being used for the first time in a race; and of course the feeling in my legs as I boarded the flight to Rome the same night.

Reflecting on all of this makes me think about what we do in our lives to create experiences rather than merely doing things to produce results.What is it that you treasure most: the experience; the shared moments with loved ones and friends; the memories you accumulate - or is the fun in the single-minded determination to achieve a goal you’ve set?

A single result is a wonderful and masterful achievement as you even receive a medal and the T-shirt to prove it. Yes, you may have a collection of certificates hanging on your walls – but perhaps there’s even more to it all when you allow yourself to enjoy the accumulation of special moments surrounding the events in your life?

After we’d done our race registration and collected our gear and goodie bags on Friday afternoon, I lay on my bed with my girlfriend chatting. Neil Diamond music was blaring in the background (thanks to the house-owners) and she was asking me about my university days, previous boyfriends and suchlike… yes, girl-talk.Once again – I realised that I’d need to really think hard to remember the subjects I’d done over the years and the results I’d received (although I’m better academically than athletically!) – but a variety of stories of people, parties, student-holidays and heart-breaks came flooding out!

I’ve realised that my life is largely about people and relationships. But I don’t think I’m unique in this – I’m just allowing myself to experience as much as possible with regard to what life is offering up at any time.

Although, I’m sure it would be different if I were an elite athlete, my reality is that as I sat writing the article, wearing a cute (and unique) t-shirt designed for our triathlon team by one of the team members, I knew that my true joy and success of the entire Half-Ironman experience lay in the build-up, the actual race and in the celebration function afterwards – regardless of how long it took us to actually cross the finish line.

What are you sacrificing from the fuller picture of your life in order to achieve a single-focussed result?Is this what you really want?

Success is not the key to happiness . Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
Albert Schweitzer