The United States Declaration of Independence states: ‘Liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness.’ These three aspects are considered to be the sovereign rights of man.
When was the last time you were out-chicked? When you are over-take by a lady athlete during a race, we call that being ‘out-chicked’. I have been out-chicked many times in my life, and I still do. It can be a humbling experience, and a check on one’s ego; in the self-esteem department, I don’t know…I have also been overtaken in marathons and triathlons by older athletes. This can be an inspiring experience instead of a humiliating one. It suggests that there is promise for us in the future if we stay consistent, collaborative and current. Learn from the better and the best; ultimately, the results are yours to keep.
My first experience was in Ironman New Zealand 2006 – the ill-fated year where the swim leg was cancelled because of 90kph winds and 1-metre high, white-water, waves. A 45-49 years lady age-grouper considerately asked me during the bike-leg: ‘Are you okay?’ I replied with a meek, ‘I’m okay. Thanks!’ I was lying through my teeth. I was hurting as I was cramping in the cold, and rolling terrain. I never saw her again on the ride although I tried to make a pursuit on my subsequent recovery. It was either my myopia or amnesia protecting my sense of reality.
Last night, I watched a re-run of the film, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ which starred A-List actor Will Smith and his son, Jayden (Karate Kid 3). It is a rags-to-riches story of the successful entrepreneur-philanthropist, Chris Gardner who spent a year homeless with his toddler-son in San Francisco before he landed a salaried job as a stockbroker. He decided to pursue his ‘unalienable rights’.
Some people pursue physical challenges like swimming across wide bodies of water – along the Amazon River, from Alcatraz Island to the mainland, the Kapas-Marang swim in Malaysia, and across the English Channel. This is a recent report of a 70-year-old conquering his personal challenge of swimming across the cold waters of Britain.
In my pursuit of factual accuracy, I attempt to check my sources of information once. I do alter any mistakes, which I inadvertently make when I meet my 24-hour deadline for this daily blog. I believe that we can make time for tasks and accomplishments.
Today, I wrote in to the organizers of the Adidas King of The Road (KOTR) 16.8K Race on Sunday, and requested they review the results posted online. It appears that, based on gun-time, they were correct in their presentation of data. However, based on nett time (actual champion-chip, recorded time) they were inaccurate. My 175th position was based on gun-time, whereas with actual time I would have been top-60 in the local/closed field of about 6,000 Singaporeans. Those who started from behind the pack, and worked their way up gradually, would have been denied the happiness of a better report-card grade. We will see if happiness would be served to all affected parties.
Leadership Lessons: What are your pursuits? What do you pursue in your life? Let yourself be out-chicked. Appreciate that performers come in all forms. Recognise that the competition is there for a reason. May the best person win!
Photo-credits: KK Chin
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