Sirens Echo: *Being* An Athlete

*Being* An Athlete

I have always been active since I was a kid. Riding bikes, climbing trees, building forts (both winter and summer), playing cops & robbers, shooting BB guns and my brother's compound bow, riding the neighbor's horses, playing on the playgrounds, going on long walks with my dog, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking with my family.... all part of an active and adventurous childhood.

Thankfully my mom never let us stay in and just "zone out" on the TV or play video games for endless hours - we always had to be active... and heaven forbid we EVER said the terrible words: "We're bored!" Oh, that was a recipe for many chores! Even if we had just finished them, there were ALWAYS more chores to do. Especially our dreaded one: ROCK PICKING!

So while I've never been especially sedentary, (with the possible exception of working insane hours in retail there for a few years) I've never particularly thought of myself as an athlete. Despite riding horses, doing Taekwondo for the majority of my life, frequent yoga practice, mountain biking, skiing, and being a regular at the gym, I was still taken aback when my Physical Therapist called me an "athlete."

Why?

Because my own "mental image" of myself isn't as one -- despite being a black belt in Taekwondo, an accomplished runner - including a half-marathon under my belt, hiking mountains, shooting my own bow, competing in martial arts tournaments, running races, riding my two horses, and being in the gym nearly every day of the week.

Because to me an "athlete" is an elite level artist in their sport, an Olympian, a professional, a competitor at the highest echelon. But does that make everyone who trains not an athlete if they aren't an Olympic sprinter? Of course not!

So, the question rises: WHY NOT ME!?

I realized the fault in my thinking is just another method of self-deprecation, another way of putting myself down and thinking I'm not good enough. How does *that* help me? It doesn't.

Two words to myself: STOP IT!

Of course there will always be someone faster, someone who can kick higher, someone more athletic, someone more accomplished, someone with more gold medals, someone who trains more hours a week. But that is no reason not to BELIEVE IN MYSELF!

I work actively to encourage and (hopefully!) inspire others.

People who don't even know each other have said that I am a great motivating force in their lives.

When I look in the mirror, why isn't that what I see?

So just as I won't let anyone talk themselves down over their accomplishments (any workout is better than none at all!) so too I have to monitor myself, EVEN & ESPECIALLY when it arises in a situation like this one where one simple word carried so much emotional impact.

I AM an ATHLETE!

Being one is just part of who I am, part of who I want to be, and even more representative of what I want to become.

Onward & upward! BOOYA!

Competing at Utah Summer Games 2013