Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Letting Go

As type-A uber structured triathletes, it can be very hard to LET GO. Of just about anything. Routine, training regiments, actually admitting you are injured and need to take a break, relationships, accepting that a friend is really sick, etc. Change is hard. And scary. As humans I think we all tend to like a comfortable routine to an extent where we know what to expect. As triathlete-humans you could also add a bit of wanting to control all (or many) things around us.

Unfortunately life doesn't always come in nicely wrapped little packages. It gets messy. I've learned that usually right around the time I start to think I have life figured out, oh guess what - I don't. AT ALL. But in many ways - this is what makes it great and exciting. Life isn't all about tons of ducks in a neat little orderly color-coded row (but seriously - how great would that be at times!!). At the same time, this allows us to have spontaneity, unexpected fun and some surprises along the way that I quite honestly would not want to trade. It's usually in these experiences that I learn the most.

Can't Let Go - courtesy Exploding Dog

Somehow over the years I have gotten a bit better at letting go. I really do believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe it is what some people have described as my somewhat annoyingly positive outlook on life, but I tend to believe that everything will ALWAYS work out. And trust me, I've seen some dark days. At age 19 I lost my best friend and really did not know how life would go on. I can honestly tell you that my life is better because this event happened. This is not to say I don't wish like crazy I could have my friend back, but that experience allowed me to change the way I look at the world. It allowed me to live a life with no regrets. And life is good - maybe messy or confusing, but good.

Hope everyone is enjoying some down time around the holidays and when things get stressful with work, life, family, etc. try to just let go. It will all work out in the end.