Posted 12:21 am Sunday, August 12, 2012
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Chase a personal Olympic moment
By Coshandra Dillard
cdillard@tylerpaper.com
Today is the last day of the summer Olympics, and by next week, I’m sure people will have lost that Olympic fever. American athletes proved to be determined champions, with more than 100 medals. Years of hard work paid off, in spite of injuries and adversities.
cdillard@tylerpaper.com
Today is the last day of the summer Olympics, and by next week, I’m sure people will have lost that Olympic fever. American athletes proved to be determined champions, with more than 100 medals. Years of hard work paid off, in spite of injuries and adversities.
For the average citizen, we can only dream of excelling in the Olympics. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own mini-Olympic moment.
I came across a great set of guidelines for regular folks from a website, takepart.com, which listed “12 Best Health Tips to Steal from Olympians,” with the mini-Olympic moment being No. 12.
This idea emphasizes the need to fight a good fight, such as finishing your first marathon, even if you come in last.
It borrows from the Olympic Creed, which reads: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
While this creed is meant to inspire the world’s best athletes, it can inspire us, too, and not just in sports or fitness. We get so caught up in wanting to be first or the fastest or the strongest. We look forward to the goal and we sometimes forget to appreciate the struggle. It is the struggle that makes us stronger, more appreciative and more humble once we triumph.
The next time you don’t finish a run in the time you wanted or you can’t lift the heaviest weights, celebrate the fact you are up and moving — that you are placing the pursuit of good health into your own hands.
For more Olympic-inspired health tips, visit www.takepart.com/photos/12-best-health-tips-steal-olympians. For Olympic-inspired workouts from the American Council on Exercise, visit www.acefitness.org/workouts.
This idea emphasizes the need to fight a good fight, such as finishing your first marathon, even if you come in last.
It borrows from the Olympic Creed, which reads: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
While this creed is meant to inspire the world’s best athletes, it can inspire us, too, and not just in sports or fitness. We get so caught up in wanting to be first or the fastest or the strongest. We look forward to the goal and we sometimes forget to appreciate the struggle. It is the struggle that makes us stronger, more appreciative and more humble once we triumph.
The next time you don’t finish a run in the time you wanted or you can’t lift the heaviest weights, celebrate the fact you are up and moving — that you are placing the pursuit of good health into your own hands.
For more Olympic-inspired health tips, visit www.takepart.com/photos/12-best-health-tips-steal-olympians. For Olympic-inspired workouts from the American Council on Exercise, visit www.acefitness.org/workouts.
