I was reminded of this often used phrase this weekend when I went to watch my wife's Dragon Boat team compete in a Regatta in Philly.
For those of you unfamiliar with Dragon Boat racing, it involves those large boats with 10 pairs (20 rowers) of rowers, a steer person and a drummer instead of a cox.
A well coached, in synch Dragon Boat is a thing of beauty as you can see the coordinated effort to move that big boat down the course as efficiently and quickly as possible.
My wife's group had 3 different boats in the various races, a neophyte boat, a senior boat and an elite boat.
The group that caught my eye was the neophyte group as their unbridled enthusiasm and sheer joy at being outdoors, moving and competing was almost visceral. Several of the women on the team were cancer survivors and for several this was their first competitive sporting venture of any kind....many of them grew up in the era before Title IX and weren't given the opportunity to play sports when they were younger.
All of the hard work, indoor rowing, time trials and other training they did over the winter and early spring paid off as they won the neophyte division handily. And the smiles and hugs afterwards were sincere and joyous....they embraced the moment but also the process.
It is easy to get jaded when you've competed for a long time and take the wonderful opportunity and experiences that sports can afford you, esp. as you get older, and not fully savor the process and the moment. Take a moment to do that the next time you are practicing or training for your sport. Because, generally speaking, the competitive moments are just a fraction of the time you devote to your sport and if you don't enjoy the process I believe things will get "old" very fast.
Train hard and train smart!
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