Dot confidence and dot fun

Two dots we will attempt to connect today are:
dot confidence and dot fun.

As they apply to athletic performance. I have used this allegory in past and find it helpful. Stay with me.

Once upon a time there was a mighty warrior who lived in the deep jungle of the Amazon. He was the hunter/gatherer for his village as well as its chief protector. He had a beautiful wife and two young children. He was strong, fleet of foot, powerful and wise. He was admired and respected by all the villagers. One day while he was hunting, he came across a sleek black pantheress. Their eyes locked. A thousand images flashed through his head as they stood frozen, less than ten feet apart. He thought about his wife, his children, the villagers, what would happen to them if he was gone, his responsibilities to them and the course of action he must immediately take to avoid catastrophe. He also sensed that the big cat was thinking similar thoughts, and knew intuitively that she was nursing, and therefore, capable of super feline blasts of phenomenal power. A fight to the death would only orphan the loser's offspring. Knowing the jungle's bounty would provide food in other forms the warrior wisely chose flight instead of the fight. But in the few seconds it took to process this data the cat had instinctively charged to protect her cubs. And the race was on.

He was running for his life. The hunter, now the hunted, at maximum speed. He had but one choice: Get to the cliff and dive before the big black cat could catch him. The distance was only fifty feet but the cat was closing, fast. There was total absence of fear when he planted both feet and leapt. His trust was that The Great Spirit would provide an opening in the rock filled river far below.

It did.

Moral of the story: (remembering the dot fun) Obviously our warrior hero had confidence. He also had great wisdom. His decision allowed the circle of life to proceed. He would re-group, rest and take his recent lessons back into the jungle another day. With even greater confidence and respect.

And fun? When we compete in events today, in races or merely in high spirited training sessions we are not running for our lives. There are no wild beasts chasing us. We are not hunted. There is relatively little danger.

Why then do we do it?

To feel alive. To be challenged. To find our highest selves. To re-create the heroic. For meaning. And for fun.

If you aren't dong this for the sheer fun, excitement and adrenaline flow, you might as well go jump off a cliff.

Confidence in yourself (trusting your plan and your training) will enable you to achieve your goals, manifest as fun. Should you not achieve the goal? You still had fun. It's the journey, the adventure, the story that counts. Our races are not life and death. They are about having fun.

And yes, the Warrior and the Pantheress became allies and lived happily ever after (until the white man came in and bulldozed the jungle to build a shopping mall).

Pix: Panther suggesting flight. Mural at the King K in Kona. Confidence and fun = power.