This year, the first 4 place getters of the Visually Impaired (T13) 1500 metre final of the 2016 Rio Para Olympics ran faster than the gold medal winner of the same race in the Rio Olympics, just two weeks prior. In fact, the winning time of the 1500m able-bodied final was the slowest since 1932 and 24 seconds off the world record pace!
Traditionally, so I’m told, the 1,500 m race is a highly tactical contest – a cat and mouse game, and most often some one will break in front of the pack and set the pace. However this year, no one was game enough until the last 500m, producing the slowest result in many years.
Why would these incredible athletes, all capable of so much more and who had been preparing for this race with everything they had for years prior, hold themselves back?
Why didn’t they take the risk?
Are they now regretting the race they chose to run that day?
Are they wishing they’d not let the pack dominate their thinking and run their own race instead?
It can be so easy to sit back and pass judgement about the performance of others, without having been in their shoes, and it’s not my intention at all to do so here. I’m mentioning this event today as it serves as a reminder to ensure we are all running our own race – that we are not holding anything back when it comes to achieving what it is we want to achieve.
And when you’re in a Leadership role, this becomes of even greater importance as you’ve got your team watching your every move and whose behaviour will more than likely be based upon yours – not a small responsibility to say the least.
Everything you do as a Leader will duplicate good or bad. Authentic leaders lead by example.
Are you bringing your “A game” to the table?
Are there any areas in your life and leadership you know you need to stop holding back on?
What is holding you back?
What do you need to change?
What do you fear might happen if you “break from the pack”?
Fear stops people from running their own race. When I spend one on one time with people, the fear of rejection and the fear of what other people think holds them back from what they are capable of.
The moment you stop worrying about what other people think, you’ve begun to run your own race.
Belief comes not from our head but from within our spirit – we live what we believe and our belief creates faith in our ability to achieve our Vision.
Our vision becomes the team’s vision and people grow and move on when we implant our vision into the team we surround ourselves with.
Effective leaders finish what they’ve started and effective leaders are always willing to press on a little further.
Courage is an essential Leadership trait and it is more essential than the gifts you may have as a human being, for without Courage and the willingness to take calculated risks, your ability to self actualise and achieve the big picture vision for your life will not eventuate.
Effective Leaders get things done by making things happen. The authentic leader always believes all things are possible.
When you lead people, first you must lead yourself before you can lead others.
If you want to lead, you have to allow yourself to be led.
The 1,500m race comparison I spoke about earlier also highlights the importance of whom you let yourself be influenced by. The people you associate with on a regular basis will have a massive impact on your thinking and behaviour. It’s called “The Association Factor”.
We all have many different people in our lives for a number of different reasons, but my question to you today is, are you including in your life and allowing yourself to be highly influenced by people whom you aspire to be, or, who aspire for the same things as yourself? People who will encourage and inspire you to achieve what you want to achieve?
For the last 41 years, Golf has been my passion and when I became a member of a private golf club in Sydney, it wasn’t just because of the golf course and facilities. It was largely due to the association factor of being able to connect with like minded people – we call ourselves “The WAGS”, who today inspire me as a result of the success they’ve achieved in their own personal lives and the wisdom they share, unknowingly at times, which has added tremendous value to my life by positively impacting my thinking.
The WAGS are an exceptional group of 50+ men from all different walks of life that inspire me to keep running my own race. At the same time, I know that I bring value into their race with my own personal story. Iron sharpens iron.
Are you surrounding yourself with like-minded people?
Are people you are associating with holding you back?
Are you holding anyone back from reaching their potential?
What do you need to change so that you are not a lid on the potential of the people you surround yourself with?
“You are or will become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Jim Rohn, Business Philosopher
Are you holding anything back?
Bette Midler said – “The worst part of success is trying to find someone that is happy for you”.
It is so much easier to run your own race when you associate with like-minded people who understand what it takes to truly lead out in front, on your own, chasing your Vision.
Are you running your own race?
Some other articles I’ve written that may give you more insight into this topic:
I talk further about the importance of being led and the Association Factor in my book, “The Dream Is Everything”. If you’d like to receive a FREE e-copy of my book, (RRP $24.95), click here.
All the best,
Peter.
