SOLE Blog
September 22nd, 2009
No risk, no reward
Disappointment is an unfortunate but inevitable part of life. Learning that for ourselves is hard enough. Teaching that to our children is even harder.
Some of my personal trials over the past year have taught me that disappointment is as much a part of everyday life as joy.
Through all the years, running has taught me how to handle disappointment and mine the experience for hidden value. People beat us in races. We are disappointed. We can't run as fast as we used to. We are disappointed. It's raining or it's too cold and we don't want to run. We are disappointed.
In fact, each time I step out my door to run or to race is another opportunity to be disappointed somehow. On the flip side, it's also an equally great opportunity for satisfaction or joy.
This coming weekend is an example. Saturday I will run my first competitive 50K race. And by the time the sun sets in the mountains of southwestern Virginia I will know which--the glow of joy or the weight of disappointment, or both--will sit with me.
Though I've run the 31 miles in training, my training has been confined mostly to gently rolling roads. The course I'll run has 8,800 feet of elevation change, including a climb of 2,500 feet over 10 miles. This race offers a buffet of opportunities to somehow fail and therefore face disappointment.
It's a lot like life. Each time we reach beyond the things we already are good at we risk disappointment. Each time we engage with others, each time we put ourselves out there in a relationship, there's a chance for humiliation or embarrassment or pain. Things don't turn out the way we hope. And disappointment is right there wagging its finger at us saying, "I told you so."
But the rewards are even greater. Sure, people disappoint us. We risk disappointment stretching beyond our comfort zone or the people we hang around all the time. But the reaching also gives us the chance to see ourselves in a different and better light, to grow. The rewards for mastering something new, for meeting someone new seem far greater to me. Just as getting up and running every day and seeing what I can do can be. Just as stepping up to that starting line on a crisp fall morning in the mountains of Virginia and running for six or seven hours might be.
Thanks for reading.
Christian is the Manager for Business Development for Running for SOLE. He also covers the Great Lakes territory for SOLE.
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