"Athletic competition clearly defines the unique power of our attitude." Bart Starr

I like this quote. Athletics was a big part of my life growing up in rural Nova Scotia. My parents were small business entrepenuers and their lively hood was dependant on tide, weather and time.  They worked hard to provide us with everything a growing family needs.  There wasn't "much to do" as most kids from my hamlet would say. For my siblings and I, we helped around the house, had chores and I think I had my first "job" at 11 years old. I learned the value of hard work early and that when the going gets tough, you gotta put a grin on your face and stick with, the rewards are well worth the effort.
In grade 6 I played badminton with my school team. I enjoyed the experience, so when I was approached at the beginning of my grade 7 year to play on my high school's soccer team, I was intrigued. My school was tiny, so in order to enter a sports team into the league, students from grade 7-12 played on the high school teams. I didn't know much about sports up to that point. Neither of my parents played any sports, as I am sure their childhood was much like mine had been up to that point.
I was hooked! We would practice, work hard, get beat in games, learn a lesson, practice our skills, challenge our limits, win a game, do drills to improve weaknesses. It wasn't easy, but I was enjoying the process.
In the early years of playing on my high school team we didn't place well in the standings. My tiny high school had never brought home a championship banner in any female sport. By the time I was in grade 10, we were winning more and more. Other teams in our league started to see us as a close rival.
Fast forward to my grade 12 year, I had been playing on the school soccer, basketball and badminton teams for 6/7 years now! We had great teams and that year we brought home our school's very first regional as well as provincial soccer championship! Four months later we also brought home the provincial basketball championship banner.
The point of this story is, had I gotten "bored" with the sports or frustrated or given up when we got knocked down I would have missed out on 6 years of working towards something so rewarding that I can't even put it into words.
For me, definitely athletic competition defines the unique power of our attitude, because it was and still is a big part of my life. But, this can also apply to other aspects of our lives. If you set out a goal for yourself, are you going to give up when things don't go your way? Whether you are working towards a promotion, an athletic goal, weight loss or saving money for a purchase, you will be faced with obstacles that will challenge your dedication. Have a GREAT ATTITUDE, a realistic outlook, and know that what you are working towards takes time and that once it's acheived you've earned it and that reward will always be yours!

Are you an Athlete?

So, I was thinking this week about what makes an Athlete an Athlete.

Dictionary.com defines an Athlete as a person who is trained or gifted in sports or physical exercises.


Dictionary.reference.com takes it a bit further and defines an Athlete as a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise or game requiring physical skill.


The origin of the word is latin, athleta, and is a variant stem of athlein which means to contend for a prize.

So, technical stuff out of the way, what does that mean?

First of all I don't think athleticism is a gift.  Sure our genes are predetermined and some individuals may find that athleticism comes a little more easily to them, but any individual who has made progress with any sort of endeavour or achievement, whether athletic, musical, business, arts, will tell you that it came through passion, practice and dedication.  Probably in that order if they were to think about it.  

So, is Sidney Crosby an athlete?  Is the 8 year old showing an interest in ballet an athlete?  Is the stay at home Mom who decides she wants to lose weight, feel better about herself and have energy to play with her children an athlete?  Yes!  What do these three examples have in common...?

They all show an interest in challenging and improving their current physical abilities for their chosen discipline.  That is how I would define an athlete.

The human body was meant to move and everyone deserves an opportunity to challenge their body in a way to improve and be better, no matter what prize they are contending for!

Make a comment below, what prize are you contending for?

"Being genuinely happy for the successes of another person adds joy to our day." ~ Rhoberta Shaler

I am quite lucky in my profession. People come to me with goals they want to achieve or something they want to accomplish.  In the process of working towards their goal they hit milestones along the way and eventually achieve the desired outcome.  I get to celebrate that with them! How awesome is that! Think of the people in your life. Your significant other, relatives, children, co-workers, the person who serves you StarBucks coffee every morning. When was the last time you celebrated a success with one of them? Wouldn't it be pretty cool if, of all the people you know or come across regularly, someone celebrated a success once a week? Everyday? Imagine the joy that could bring to your life as well. What is the saying..."A sorrow shared is halved, a joy shared is doubled." With that in mind here is something to think about... Don't be afraid to ask. Encourage those you know to share their successes with you.  Ask them if they are working towards something.  A promotion at work, saving up money for a particular item, trying out for a sports team, ANYTHING!  Then ask them how it's going and when they achieve it, congratulate them!  It will bring you both joy and, in my opinion, you can never get enough joy in your life! Don't be afraid to share your own successes.  I am not good at this, but I'm working on it. Share your own successes in a positive, encouraging way. You don't have to gloat, but if you've done something you are pleased with, share.  You never know, you may help add some joy to someone's day or, even better, inspire them to believe in their abilities enough that they can succeed at something they've been struggling to accomplish.

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