I competed in my first ever triathlon yesterday, which also marked the first time wearing spandex outside the house (photo intentionally deleted). I had a fabulous time competing, but Olympian Simon Whitfield can sleep peacefully knowing that I will not be challenging any of his records any time soon.
I decided that in my mid 30’s it was time to try something new in order to stay in shape. I was getting bored of doing the same old thing at the gym (when I went). I decided on triathlons, because I love to swim, I enjoy a good bike ride, and I can tolerate running for 10 kilometers.
The biggest obstacle when starting anything new of course is getting over your fears: fear of failure, fear of looking foolish, fear of not finishing or finishing last. But like many things we do in life, most of our fears only exist in our heads, and rarely play out in reality. Life has taught me that my biggest fear in life, is not living it.
You learn a lot about yourself when you try something new, sports, business or otherwise. You learn to push your personal boundaries and discover what your capable of. You learn from you mistakes, your achievements, and improve a little each time you do it.