Just “TRI”ing my Best

Submitted by guest blogger Jeremy C.

Every summer I manage to seek out some exciting adventure that usually requires an extreme amount of preparation and commitment. It can range anywhere from backpacking trips to marathons, this year I made my venture into the world of triathlons. I have to admit; sometimes I do ask myself why did I get in so deep to this? Is it really worth all the hours of work and training? I am sure you have all asked yourselves similar questions regarding different adventures you have set off to accomplish. Life itself surely can be an adventure where we ask ourselves some of these questions.

This past weekend I had my first triathlon of the summer in St. George. I must say I did pretty well for my first triathlon. I took 2^nd place in my race division and finished in the top 10% of all the competitors in who raced. It was an absolute blast. I had my family and friends who came along to support me. It created a really motivating and inspiring feeling inside me to do well for them. It was pretty intimidating at first. There were so many people, many of which; have these amazingly light and fast bicycles that are several thousands of dollars and wetsuits that are extremely expensive. You can just tell they are extremely experienced competitors. I like to think I am a competitor, but just starting in the sport, I definitely don’t have the nice equipment or confidence they have. As the start of the race neared, my dad and mom came over to take a picture with me and as I went over with the other competitors both my mom and dad expressed their pride for my hard work in preparing and taking on something new, like an Olympic distance triathlon. What they said next as I was about to turn around and walk off to get ready, stayed with me during the race; my mom said, “Remember bud, winners never quit and quitters never win”! My dad followed with; “they can’t beat you if you don’t quit”! These two phrases were not new for me to hear from my parents because they have been telling me these two phrases for as long as I can possibly think back to remember. It just served as a great reminder to me in that moment that it didn’t matter if I were to take dead last or first place. What mattered or I guess I should say, what matters is that I do my best in whatever I set out to accomplish and that I never give up in period. I think for me, I find motivation for life in crossing the finish line, not in winning every race. Certainly, it is fun to win, but the joy and the sense of accomplishment is found in not quitting, but in persevering.

My parent’s words of encouragement and support serve to me as a reminder that we eventually will finish out on top if we just stay constant and never give up. Those words of support and confidence; “winners never quit and quitters never win” and “they can’t beat you if you don’t quit”, ring truth I think for all of us as we pursue happiness and success in life. We just need to learn to always do our best and keep moving forward. Eventually, we will come out on top.