A Lesson from a 9 year old
Call me old fashioned, but I believe most people are spoilt today. If something either does not fall into their lap, or is handed to them on a plate, they moan and act like a jilted lover. I feel there is a sense of entitlement in our society and to be honest it bugs the hell out of me. People tell me when I deliver a programme or coach people on my courses, it looks effortless and I make it look easy. If only. I personally went through hell and back to get where I am today. When I worked at Dale Carnegie Training, (who are regarded at producing the best Instructors and Coachers in the world), I had to go through over 750 hours of unpaid training, spread over two years. It was like going through the SAS and often I would go home saying that I could not do this, I wanted to give in, only to wake up the next day and start over again.
So where am I going with this.
My youngest daughter Martina has never been a sporty person. She has always been artistic and the thought of training or going to the gym brought about the same level of enthusiasm as me going to watch Manchester City on a Saturday afternoon. On sports day she would often always come last in her three races and guess what, she was never bothered. It did not help her that her birthday is in July, and she looks the youngest in the class.
However, over the last three months, there has been an incredible shift and I have been taking Martina and her friend Libby to the gym. Each week, we have been running, sprinting and then swimming after. To be honest it has been brilliant, we have been running round the track, often completing a 3 miles work out, followed by a sprinting session and then we all go swimming. To be honest it has become a bit of an obsession, as she loves going.
Well, all the hard work has paid off and last week at sports day she came first in the sack race, first in the relay team and then second in the 60 metre dash. Unfortunately I was working and could not attend, but was delighted to hear her news and we celebrated together when I came home.
This Saturday when we finished at the gym, she came up to me and thanked me and gave me a kiss that made me go weak at the knees.
You all know that if you ever want anything in life, you have to work damned hard to get it and I cannot tell you how pleased I am with her progress and if she can take away the hard work message in later life, then I think she will be in a good place.
