How Do You Fail? Gracefully, Or Disgracefully?

‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall.’

How much of this is true? If you consider it as a test of physicality, size does matter when you multiply it by the physical laws (force, acceleration, magnitude, direction). Size times gravity = OUCH!

The OUCH Factor. How painful is it? From ‘I can live with it’ to ‘bearable’ to ‘excruciating pain’. When we make mistakes, how do we recover? How can we learn from our mistakes? How will we really know if we have learnt from our transgressions? How do you make amends? How do you seek forgiveness when you have betrayed somebody’s trust?

Somewhere down the relationship chain – us and another person – are a collection of values and beliefs. When we violate a value, whether it is a shared or unique one, we may create friction, doubt, and distrust. Values have value. Honesty may not be the best policy for single-minded, prejudicial and discriminating people. No amount of facts or affectations can easily shift a person to another perspective or paradigm unless he/she makes a deliberate choice and decision to step aside of themselves. To put it in grandiose terms, ‘time to get your head out of your backside!’

Love him, or hate him, triathlon professional and champion Macca articulates his approach to failure with distinction.

How do we stop ourselves form falling or failing? Perhaps, a better question would be: How do you bounce back when you fail and fall?

The Sum of All Our Beliefs

'If you think you can, or cannot - you're right.' ~ Henry Ford


Our behaviors are driven by our beliefs and values. Renes Descartes wrote that we are govern by our thoughts, words and actions. Our beliefs are our motives and motivations for what we do. Our beliefs can limit or enhance our actions, and thus our results.


Sports and sporting activities include how we involve our beliefs. If our beliefs create choices for us, then they become relevant and useful for us in our future. When our beliefs reduce our choices and flexibility, then they need to be updated or removed from our mental programming.


When you earn achievements and accomplishments, they shift our beliefs about our capabilities. Each success in our sporting endeavours springs forth new beliefs about our abilities. I have noticed that the recent recepients of the Ironman Western Australian Ironman triathlon were eager to sign up for a new race. In fact, some attempted to sign up for next year's edition, which sold out this morning within 69 minutes! For those who did a personal best, tehir mental programming suggested doing another one in the near future, so as to crack new mental and physical barriers.


Shift your beliefs, update them, and restructure them - and enjoy new results and personal success!

The Difference Between Can and Cannot Is More Than Spelling

‘If you think you can or cannot – you’re right.’ ~ HENRY FORD

Can or cannot – those are self-limitation words. Will or won’t – choices of intention.

Self-imposed limitations are arrived at by our beliefs and experiences. Perception and attitude are also components of limiting beliefs. What we say to ourselves, and others, on a regular basis can have dire impact when others believe us. Tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth!

What stops you from approaching something? Is it fear? Where does this fear stem from? Will you be able to get past this fear, by moving forwards?

We can move towards something, or away from it. These are parts and pathways of our motivations. Our motivation engages to move, and do something about a cause, or what matters to us. The force to move must be compelling enough to make us move, or else stasis leads to inactivity and nothing. You have to crank your pedals harder (at a high gear) if you are to get over the crest of the steep hill, or spin faster at a lower gear. Alternatively, you may have to push the bike up or be stalled by the roadside.

If you have a belief that people are stealing your jobs, then perhaps, you may have a belief that you are dispensable. ‘Nobody is indispensable’ is a belief that not everybody shares. Why is it that some of us continue to be sought after for our skill-sets and competencies? Is it due to an X-Factor? Is it due to appearance or connections? Is it due to luck, destiny or karma?

It is a mystery that some people put themselves in a strategically inferior position. They tend to live on tactics, yet fail to realize their strategy/strategies. Putting things in the hands of chance can be a risky proposition; a calculated risk may be more sound and sensible. Seek higher ground so that you can appraise and appreciate the situation from above. Go down to the ground when you want to connect with others, and their concerns.

Leadership Lessons: How do you know if you gave of your best? Was it based on fatigue? Pain? How did you know you dug deep inside you to create your results? If you fail in your results, can you still succeed on another level?

‘Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion.’ ~ MUHAMMAD ALI

To Salt Or Not To Salt

What in the world can we believe in?

In the past, hypertension or high blood pressure was strongly linked to high salt intake, mainly sodium. The result of this new longitudinal study (same set of subjects through a period of seven years) challenges the prevailing mindset that high salt intake can lead to increased heart disease.

Active athletes consume a fair amount of salt during the race. We load up on electrolytes especially if sweat profusely, and tend to cramp up during strenuous physical activities. So, salt intake from sports drink may not raise our blood pressure up unnecessarily. After my first series of cramps at my first half-Ironman distance race at Desaru in 2007 (and at Ironman NZ 2006), I decided and committed to using electrolytes and salt as a intrinsic part of my racing tactics. During the week preceding a race, it is not unusual to over-salt our foods from pretzels, sports drinks and table-salt in our food.

Read about Macca’s soft heart. No – he is doing fine. The title of the story is misleading, although captivating like our personal beliefs.

Beliefs need to be updated, and they can be out-dated. They form the foundations of behaviors and actions. To do, or not to do – that is the question. Doubts merely cloud our judgements and actions. Negative thoughts are beliefs disguised as excuses and learnt haplessness.

Until you run 10K, you’d never believe that you could. The same goes for any physical of mental challenges. I never thought I would complete an Ironman race (nor do 10), run a marathon (and qualify for Boston), run an ultra-marathon (and place near-top-10) and qualify and complete for a triathlon world championships (twice). Each achievement and personal best timing prepares us for other possibilities.

Update your beliefs today! Achieve the reach of your potential.