Always Believe

“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.” 
―Seneca, The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters


Anything is possible. The only thing that defeats us is ourselves giving up from within. Nothing else is defeat. You can get get beat but never be defeated if you never give up from within and gave it everything you had. Look around the world and you see amazing stories of people coming back from way behind in sports. Miranda Carfrae came back in the 2014 Ironman World Championship of a gap of 14:33 to win the world title. Sebastian Kienle, the male winner, almost dropped out of the race the week leading into the race but realized that he was great (among other things) and ended up winning. After finishing he couldn't stop mustering I don't fucking believe it, I don't fucking believe it... After calming down he said "don't ever judge yourself on one bad day but on the best day of your life..."
What makes me write this is watching the Packers-Hawks game. Seattle managed to come back from a 16 point deficit and win the game, all in the last four minutes. Belief that you can do it is everything. Stay strong in your mind and the body will follow.

This is why Ironman is such a beautiful sport because it challenges your self-belief and teaches you about grace. Anyone who has ever done a Ironman knows that in order to reach the finish line you have to have something deep within yourself. Ironman is about being fit but equally about being spiritually aware. This spiritual awakening that comes from pushing the body so far in life is the ultimate goal. 
In addition the overcoming of pain in the sport is what teaches us how to love. Love is not always the romantic scene of buying flowers for someone or going out to nice dinners. Love is about fighting for someone else... Ironman teaches you to presevere and to have the light in the tunnel whether it is a week off or ten years off. It teaches you to believe in someone and at the end of the day this is what matters. Ironman teaches you to be a better human being and gives you the devices to hopefully make the world a better place. 

I got a tattoo of the word MANA on my back which means spirit or energy of the world. It is my underlying philosophy that drives me to do everything I can in life. It makes me thankful for every waking moment. I believe that self-belief is what has been coined as god or other spiritual concepts. Belief is powerful and we all have the ability to harness it. Belief makes the impossible, possible.