We aren't through 2020 yet! I've been challenged this week, month, (year!) over and over about attitude.
The words that we speak come from what's in our heart - and that can be a hard battle when you're in the midst of an ultra marathon, a final competition workout, or sitting in the chair at your job.
Yet I am reminded this week how blessed we are to be able to participate in a running event, with real people, real spectators (not cardboard cut outs and sound waves of clapping like the London Marathon). This weekend I get the opportunity to enjoy the trails around Lake Taupo and see all my hard work pay off as I approach another milestone in my journey towards running 100miles.
I am also reminded about how easy it is to be complacent. We can so easily take for granted the opportunities we have because of the position we find ourselves in. When we aren't in a season of trial or difficulty, it's easy to breeze through each day and not acknowledge the gifts that surround us. When we aren't suffering, it's easy to forget about the people in our lives that helped us through our last mountain that we had to climb.
These past few months since our Level 4 lockdown ended, I have been consistently challenged to keep the attitude of gratitude that I was well aware of during April, when it's been just as easy to forget how challenged we can be.
When we focus on complaining, we aren't the greatest people to be around. But I've said it before, we all have the opportunity to change our focus and change our attitude if we want to. All it takes is for the pain of staying the same to be greater than the pain to change.
So before I head out to this weekend's event, I want to be grateful for the opportunity to run. I am so thankful for the support I get both on the sidelines from an amazing physio, the float room, a great running programme from Squadrun, Manuka Performance, my neighbours who consistently babysit, our best mate who runs spreadsheets last minute that may get thrown out on race day, my husband and my kids who time and time again see me enter the house late after training runs, and the team at Total Sport for making this run a possibility.
What are you thankful for today? If we can enter each day thinking of what we have, rather than focusing on what we don't, you'll start to see the difference.