I'm enjoying the sunshine of beautiful St. George this week while I visit Middle Schools in the Washington County School District. I'm traveling from school to school sharing a message about the power of thoughts and the importance of a positive attitude.
Yesterday I went to lunch with three of the counselors from one of the Middle Schools.
One counselor told me that he participated in the IRONMAN here in St. George a couple years ago. Last year he participated again with his wife. He shared with me that they were two completely different experiences.
The first year, he visualized going through the finish line throughout the entire race. It kept him going and was his fuel to actually live that moment of triumph.
Last year, his wife joined him in the race. It was a wonderful experience for them to train together. However, the swimming portion of the race was unusually challenging. That year, the water was choppy and the weather was terrible. While this man was swimming, instead of keeping his thoughts focused on crossing the finish line, he was focused on concern for his wife's safety. He knew she was in the water too, fighting the waves, fighting fatigue. He ended up having to climb into one of the safety boats and didn't finish the swimming segment of the race.
He thought it was interesting how his ability to finish the IRONMAN was compromised when he took his focus off crossing the finish line. Of course, no one faults him. What a great display of sacrifice and what a great display of love. It is also a classic example of how vision and focus play a role in our success in any of our pursuits.
In the case of this counselor, his focus, in my opinion, made him the Husband of the Year.
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