Veterans, From PTSD to Post-Traumatic Growth
Many soldiers returning home experience PTSD — post-traumatic stress disorder. It may take months or even years to overcome the damage that trauma causes to the psyche, yet time and again, surprisingly, we see service members push through
John Register, Gulf War Army Veteran and Paralympic Silver Medalist Living in Post Traumatic Growth.
rough hardship and move on to a more productive life than before they experienced trauma. Despite having what society might call a “disability,” these people have soldiered through life and have moved into Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) — loosely defined as a set of positive changes which result from surviving a traumatic experience.
As a founder of the United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Sport Program, I repeatedly experienced veterans using sports to overcome PTSD and transition into their “new normal.” I routinely heard exclamations of “I am doing more with one leg than I ever did with two!” or “I sense more without eyesight than I ever did sighted!”
The time I spent with service members in this program taught me 5 key ideas that help a person transition into their PTG.
- Discovery: Discovery of new opportunities, such as sports.
- Connection: Connecting with others who have experienced similar trauma and creating a strong bond with them.
- Resilience: Understanding that there is no “rebound,” but instead taking a proactive step toward achieving your goals, even if that means trusting someone else to help with the process.
- Appreciation: Appreciating that life is still yours to live, and being thankful for your life.
- Commitment: Commit to a process, a system, a belief that tomorrow is better than today.
This Veterans Day, we remember the great men and women who have served and still serve in our armed forces. We also recognize those who struggle with PTSD and want to ensure that programs are in place to facilitate their transition into Post Traumatic Growth.
For a free download of my infographic on PTG click HERE.
John Register
Queen of the 1-Lap (400m)
Sanya Richards Ross – Hear Ye Her!
Sanya Richards Ross has run more sub 50’s in the 400m than any other woman on the planet. Her career has been breath taking. She has staked her claim on the World stage by winning the 400m in 2012 London Games.
The Jamaican American, 5’8 powerhouse, and University of Texas Alum has racked up quite an impressive Team USA track resume which includes:
- 2004 Olympic Games, 4x400m gold medalist
- 2008 Olympic Games, 4x400m gold medalist, 400m bronze medalist
- 2012 Olympic Games, Gold in 400-Meter, Gold in 4×400 Relay
In 2009 she was named IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year and was nominated for the prestigious Laureus Award, in the same category.
In February 2015 she will have been married for 5 years to NFL outstanding corner-back Aaron Ross who won a Superbowl with the NY Giants during the 2008 season.
Sanya is one of the BP TeamUSA athletes and I was fortunate to catch up with her (she is very hard to catch up with, she’s pretty fast) and ask her what was the turning point from just playing track to realizing she could dominate in this sport as well as who was in her life to inspired her.
Find out more about this stellar young lady on her website at SanyaRichardsRoss.com and catch her 2014 Diamond League 400 win in Brussels earlier this year.
16 Minutes with First Lady Michelle Obama! Part 4 – Final
MEETING #4 – 7 minutes 30 seconds
Alice and I were fortunate to ride from the Hillside community center event in the First Lady’s motorcade to the United States Olympic Committee’s Training Center.
Now, we were NOT in the First Lady’s car, we rode with Senator Michael Bennet another honor in itself.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-02.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”Mrs. Obama and I speak about a business issue.”]I had not been in a fast moving motorcade since I represented the United States as track and field athlete in the CISM Games in Rome.
The motorcycles leap frog each other to stop traffic and clear the intersections. It is a sight to see as well as awesome to be in.
Once at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) the special guest lined up in a receiving line to take photos with the First Lady. Since I was emceeing the program I was asked to line up with Alice at the front to get our 2nd photo with her.
I was able to speak to her about a few business issues at this point and we chatted for about 2 minutes.
I then went to find a quiet place to review my notes for the opening ceremonies of the 3rd Annual Warrior Games Presented by @Deloitte.
As emcee I had the distinct honor of welcoming all the distinguished athletes from the Army, Marines, Navy, Coastguard, Air Force, Special Operations Command, and the British Military as well as three of four notable guests we had on stage. Mr. Scott Blackmun, CEO of the United States Olympic Committee, Mr. Robin Lineberger, CEO Federal Government Services Deloitte, General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; and of course First Lady Michelle Obama. General Dempsey had the honor of introducing the First Lady.
As I introduced the others on the program to speak I would take the seat of that speaker. I eventually found myself seated next to the First Lady.
She was fanning herself on the stage like she was in an old southern church. It was hot out there. Most people thought she was fanning the smoke out of her face from the lighted torch flame sitting a top one of the mangled beams from the World Trade Center that had not been extinguished, but in reality she was fanning a small bee that had infiltrated the Secret Services perimeter and no fly zone.
When the torch relay began down Olympic path she quickly moved to her cued space to great each of the athletes.
When she came back on stage I remembered what one of her aids had told me. He said, “there are two water bottles under the podium. The one of the far left is FLOTUS’.”
I leaned over to her and said, “First Lady, now they (your staff) told me that the bottle of water on the far left is yours. Don’t try to get it twisted and drink from mine which is right next to it.”
She laughed, “Thanks, good looking out!” she said.
After her remarks, which concluded to the warrior athletes with, “Now, really, I know you’re here to compete but you all be careful out there,” I heard General Dempsey say as I was walking back to up to the podium and passing Mrs. Obama as she was taking her seat, “that last comment had the mother instinct come out of you.”
I took those words and began my closing with them, “First Lady had the mother come out of her with those last words! I began, “Now you all be careful out there!” I gestured point my finger to the crowd. They loved it. The laughter from the Warriors filled the Olympic / Paralympic pathway. But I dared not look back at the First Lady because she might have been pointing her finger at me. Someone later told me later that she was smiling too. Whew! I had just survived a “dig” on FLOTUS!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-03.jpg” size=”50″ align=”right”]But her words reminded me of how important family is to the healing process of people who are going through change. Families are concerned with the total recovery of their War fighter and they are concerned.
I related a story to the audience about how my wife Alice really stopped my negativity about my own injury and how she really moved my needle in a new direction.
After the First Lady heard those comments and at the conclusion of the ceremony she made a bee line to Alice to thank her for her service and sacrifice. Now, that’s just cool!
So, there you have it. As I stated from the beginning we have a First Lady who is classy, genuine, respectful, intelligent, and who cares her heart.
As I continue to use the words of sports caster Stuart Scott, “Mrs. Obama is cool like the other side of the pillow!”
That is our First Lady of the United States – Michelle Obama.
Thanks for reading!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-04.jpg” size=”100″ align=”center” caption=”John beams as he escorts FLOTUS off the stage!”]
16 Minutes with First Lady Michelle Obama! Part 3
MEETING #3 – 2 minutes
The First Lady was coming to Colorado to open up the Warrior Games an inter-service military sporting event hosted by Deloitte and the United States Olympic Committee for wounded ill and injured service members who serve in America’s Armed Forces. This year there was also an exhibition team from Great Britain.
Prior to Mrs. Obama’s speech at the Olympic Training Center she visited Hillside Community Center to say thank you to the volunteers who were making phone calls over the past weekend on behalf of the re-election campaign that past weekend.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-03-01.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”The First Lady came by the Hillside Community Center to say thank you to hundreds of volunteers.”]As one of 35 Co-Chairs for OFA I was asked to warm up the volunteers who had been invited to a special “closed event” with the First Lady, as well as introduce the speakers on the program.
Again, very humbled an honored to do this.
Hillside Community Center in Colorado Springs serves a great need in Colorado Springs but was on the chopping block in the city budget cuts. I am glad the city has kept these doors open to many community members who live in House District 17.
After I finished the emceeing of the event on the main floor of the gymnasium Alice and I were taken upstairs to stand in line with about 60 people to meet Mrs. Obama. She entered the room and all eyes fixed on her. At 6 feet tall the First Lady has a commanding presence. But her humbleness and graciousness extends far above her stature.
I noticed how she took time to listen to each person that was presented to her as well as give them a big hug. I have been fortunate to meet four Presidents and none have been as outgoing as the Obama’s. That last comment does not have anything to do with how well they were or were not effective in office just how genuine a person is.
When it was our turn to meet the First Lady she remembered both Alice and me from the State dinner.
“Wasn’t that such a wonderful event! And John Legend was awesome. We’ll have to do that again sometime,” the First Lady said as she gave Alice a great big Momma Bear Hug.
I really hope we can do that again! I’m sure SHE will do it again – I just don’t know if we will get another invite! And, if we do, hopefully it will come to the right John Register! LoL
We took another photo with her and then were ushered downstairs by the secret service to hear her speak.
When she was announced to the eager volunteers the cheers in the little Hillside Community Center erupted into a frenzied pitch.
She took to the podium and…she took over the crowd.
I was scrambling trying to get my camera out and ready to take a photo when I overheard the First Lady say “And, let’s not forget Co-Chair John Register who has done a remarkable job.”
What…? Me? In her notes?
The Non-Marginalized Father
“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” – Charles Wadsworth
My Dad, Rev Donald B. Register, is one of those men who parallel a vocal, reasonable and silent leader. I am very fortunate to have grown up with a man who was part of the cloth but at all times a father to his children. He parented three boys to the best of his abilities. Though work was often pressing he made sure to catch the Lake Street El from downtown Chicago to make our baseball, football, or track practices in Oak Park, IL. I know it was tough for him to always make it, but It was always a great surprise and a confidence boost to see him peering over the fence or sitting in the stands as I went through practice drills with whatever team I happened to be on at the time.
When I was playing cello with the high school orchestra or singing in the choir my Dad was always a fixture in the audience supporting my aspirations.
I now follow his example with my own family. When my son John Jr. had practice for basketball or soccer, I ensured that to the best of my ability I was there for both the practices and the games. I have elevated that with my daughter Ashley to be an assistant coach on her team. Not a parent to interfere but always to offer encouragement to a young person maturing into her own adolescence. I even enjoyed watching my son Ron play sports the short amount of time he spent in our household.
The older I get the more I understand many of the pressures my Dad must have felt trying to balance work and family. And, I can attest, it is not an easy thing to do.
There is a grave responsibility on fathers who raise their children, but it appears that I find fewer fathers out there who are like my dad and more who disengage with their families. When I sit in the stands I don’t see Mom’s or Dads at Basketball practices, or volleyball scrimmages. I often find myself taking several players home from practice and dropping them off.
I look at caricatures of Homer Simpson or Al Bundy and I see more and more fathers playing the buffoon and the object of ridicule and less of the supportive, nurturing, loving steadfast parent in the home that I was accustomed too.
I know it just wasn’t me because where I grew up I saw other Dads out there supporting their sons and daughters.
Albert Mohler wrote a piece entitled, [1]“Watch out for the Myths about Fatherhood” in 2009. In it he talks about some of the myths that need to be busted such as the, Mr. Mom surge, 50-50 between work and family life, divorce impacts on children, and dispensable dads. I won’t go into any of these in this blog, but if you want to read the article by Mr. Mohler please hit the footnote link at end this blog.
I will rather spend the rest of this article talking about an interview I had with one single Dad who really makes it work for his children.
So, often our society praises single moms getting it done but we do not hear about the super single Dads who knock it out of the park on a day to day basis.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/robert-caruso.jpg” size=”100″ align=”center”]Let me introduce you to inspirer Robert M. Caruso who goes by the handle @Fondalo on Twitter. Robert is a social media guru and can also be followed on his website www.bundlepost.com.
I caught up with this busy man while I was outside of the Fort Carson Post Exchange. No, he was not there he was in his home state of Oregon getting ready to pick up his daughter and he had a few minutes to chat by phone about how he holds it down as a single Dad.
Mr. Caruso has a 3 year old son who he sees 30% of the time due to Oregon state school laws and a 13 year old daughter who he sees 50% of the time.
I asked him a series of questions and voraciously wrote down his responses. I am paraphrasing.
Me: One myth is that Fathers are more concerned with work than they are their families. With your busy schedule and always being “plugged in” on social media how do you make time for the kids?
Robert: “What you prioritize is where you spend your time. I find myself telling other people this in my business but I have to practice in myself. Most of the job I do keeps me plugged in about 80% of the time, but that time can really be in any physical location. So, I can play with my son on the floor and then get up for a quick answer to a question.”
Me: What are your greatest challenges as a Dad?
Robert: “My 3 year old son needs a lot of attention, more so than my 13 year old daughter who is really self-sufficient. Really, she is very helpful. But my son needs to know I am there for him at this stage.”
Me: 13 year old daughter and self-sufficient don’t seem to go together in the same sentence can you elaborate?
Robert: “I was sitting with her doing homework when she was 6 or 7 and we noticed some teens sitting nearby causing a bit of a commotion. She looked up at me and said, “Dad, why are teens so stupid.” I just said that hormones take over. I have never had a problem out of her. I think that what you invest in your children is what you get out. Kids need love and discipline.”
Me: Do you have any advice for other single Dads out there?
Robert: “My advice is really directed at all Dads whether they are single or not. Men are being marginalized. Society looks at men as idiots or the butt of jokes. You can look on sitcoms. We are played as out of touch or the comic relief.
The impact is that we are diminished in the eyesight of our children and we accept it by walking away and not raising our own kids. My advice to fathers is that we must be involved with our kids. We have to show them that we want to be involved, engaged, and an active part of their lives. Our kids are watching how we act with them and if we get it right, they will repeat it.”
I thank Robert for this interview and his wonderful insights for all of us Dads out here who are striving to be better leaders, followers and parents.
In closing I salute my Dad, Rev Donald B. Register, for always being there for me physically, emotionally and spiritually.
If you are a Dad continue to love your children and ensure they know that you want to be a part of their life.
Happy Father’s Day All!
[1] http://www.religiontoday.com/columnists/al-mohler/watch-out-for-myths-about-fatherhood-11604985.htmlHurdling Adversity: 1 Minute to Change A Life
A few years ago a friend invited me to read Mitch Albom’s book “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. The book is about people we interact with everyday who have had profound impacts on our life. Some we know and recognize right away and others, who may come in our lives quickly and leave just as fast, are less recognizable.
My take away from the book is that we never know the impact someone has on our life or the impact we may have on theirs. People inspire us all the time, and in turn, we inspire others. While we are living in this world, I believe it is important for all of us to tell those who have inspired us exactly that.
As I was reading Mr. Albom’s book, I was reminded of a story that changed my perspective in my early running days as a wide-eyed red-shirted freshman at the University of Arkansas (U of A) and a person who inspired me more than she knew. With her few words and matter-of-fact delivery she changed the way I viewed myself, my competitors and eventually the way I lived my life.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/blog_jeannette-bolden_d.jpg” size=”100″ align=”center”]Her name is Jeannette Bolden.
Ms. Bolden has been the head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles for the past 18 years, but in 1985 when this story takes place, she was fresh off her Olympic gold medal win as a member of the 4×100 meter relay.
This is how the story unfolded.
I was fortunate to make the Arkansas track team’s trip to Dallas, Texas and compete in my first open indoor track and field meet with my new teammates. The competition was the prestigious Dallas Morning News Invitation and my race was the 55m High Hurdles (HH)
The atmosphere was electric. There were so many athletes and spectators. There were so many track and field teams. The track surface was wooden and nothing like I had ever seen before. It was also very bouncy.
I listened to my teammate Mike Conley about how to run sprints on the bouncy boards, as well as took advice from my hurdle training partner Fred Cleary. But nothing really could have prepared me for this experience.
Sometimes in life we have to live in order to learn.
Truth be told I was just nervous. Actually, I was scared. Everyone looked so fast and experienced. I had more than butterflies in my stomach; I felt like there were little hamsters running sprint races on a treadmill trying to catch those butterflies.
I had to get control of myself. So, instead of succumbing to my fears of what I could not control, I decided that I would put my mind in a familiar place. I found my mind floating back to the warm-ups I did at my old high school in Oak Park, IL. Oak Park was a familiar point of reference for me where I had run literally hundreds of practices and races. I did a proper warm-up and prepared myself for my first big-time collegiate race.
There is an old adage that reminds us all that, “Perfect Practice Prevents Poor Performance.”
I would run the prelims and hopefully qualify for the finals.
The clerk called the hurdlers out to the track for our race. I am sure the other freshman hurdlers were just as nervous as I.
The indoor sprints are a sight to see. They are run straight down the middle of the track. Just past the finish line a section of the track, where the elevated curve would be, is removed to allow the athletes enough space to decelerate. Well actually, in the old days, there was usually not enough space for the athletes to decelerate; they would stop abruptly by slamming full speed into a high jump landing pad conveniently place against a wall and tilted on its side.
I took a few run-throughs over the first couple of hurdles to get a good feel for the track. It was bouncy and very giving as Mike and Fred stated it would be. I felt a bit off balance.
The starter lined us up and then called us to our marks. I dropped to my hands and I backed into my blocks.
My feet found the starting pads of the blocks and my hands rested just behind the white paint on the track surface. I was in a couched position. My eyes were focused straight down for the moment.
I exhaled while slowly lowering my head toward the ground. I was in a complete relaxed position.
The starter called us to the position and I drew in a quick breath filling my lungs with the recycled air of the arena. My backside rose into the air just above shoulder height as my shoulders rolled slightly forward. My eyes were opened wide with determination and were now looking about 3 feet in front of me. I was set and ready to uncoil and pounce on the first hurdle.
The gun went off and I sprang from my coiled position toward the first barrier. I exhaled violently as I pressed my body toward the first hurdle.
All I remember about that race was getting to the first hurdle before my competitors; the rest of the race was a blur. I crossed the finish line and slammed into the high jump mat, which sharply stopped my forward momentum.
I turned around and walked back to the finish line in my lane to receive my placing and time. Before I could make it to the line I heard the shouts of my Arkansas teammates coming from the grand stands. When I looked up I saw my teammates cheering for me and shouting down to me that I had won my heat!
Really?
Really!
I reached the finish line and faced the official. He confirmed the shouts of my teammates.
I was blown away. My first major race in college and I had just won! I had qualified for the finals!
In the finals the same thing happened. The competition was a bit stiffer because it was comprised of those who advanced, yet I again went to that familiar place in my mind to shed my nervousness. I again relaxed and when it was all over I had won the final as well!!
I was elated!
But my journey to Dallas was not finished. After the win in the 55mHH the official proceeded to reach into his vest pocket and give me an invitation to come later and compete in the night division invitational!
Wow! The night division invitation I thought. I get to run again. But in reality… I had no idea what that meant.
Later, I found out that I would be competing against all the people I had emulated and idolized as a hurdler while growing up in Oak Park. I was going to be racing against my heroes Greg Foster, Renaldo Nehemiah, Tony Dees and Roger Kingdom! Nehemiah had just returned from his stint in the NFL. I was amazed, honored and mesmerized to be on the same track as them.
I remembered that I had a small disc camera back at the hotel. I would bring it back so I could take some pictures of my heroes! After all I would be up close and personal with these great hurdlers and I certainly wanted to get some great shots with them.
The night fell over Dallas and the entire indoor arena changed. There was a transformation in the atmosphere. Though it remained electric the arena turned into all glitz and glamour.
My invitation pass allowed me to go down under the arena for my warm-up. I was armed with my track bag, my spikes and my camera. I saw all of my hero’s warming up.
Ooo, there’s Greg Foster – *(Click); Ooo, there’s Nehemiah (click); Ooo, there’s Roger Kingdom (click). I began taking photos of them and tried to be very inconspicuous. I hoped I was getting some really good shots.
After about 30 minutes the starter called all of us out of the warm up area and to our lanes for our respective heats. I put my camera away and went over to my lane. I don’t remember what lane I was in, but I do remember to this day the announcer’s introduction.
He was speaking in a voice that was worthy of hyping up any great prize fight.
He began his audience greeting and introduction of athletes something like this.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Dallas Morning News Indoor Track and Field Meet. On the track now is event number 35 the men’s 55mHH.
In LANE FOUR…”He has set the American record at this distance just last week. He was runner-up at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles! Please welcome……Mr. Greg Foster!”
In LANE FIVE… “He is your Gold medal winner from the 1984 Games… Please welcome… Mr. Roger Kingdom.”
I was in lane 6 and prepared myself for my big introduction. After all I had just won the collegiate division earlier that day!
“In lane six… John Register, University of Arkansas.”
IN LANE SEVEN!!!
What??? I was mad. How dare the announcer disrespect me like that! I thought in my mind, I’ll show them!
I jumped up and down to prepare my legs to run and to beat these athletes and show the announcer that he messed with the wrong one today!
The starter called us to our marks.
I placed my hands behind the white starting line just as I had done twice earlier in the day. But this time I was more anxious and a little upset. I was not relaxed. External thoughts were clouding my focus.
Carl Gustav Jung says this about our focus being clouded, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding about ourselves.”
I was about to understand things in a very definitive way!
“Set.”
When the gun went off I blasted out of blocks and looked up for the first hurdle and it was then that I realized…I was WATCHING the best hurdle race of my life!
I finished DL = Dead Last. I barely even needed to slow down to hit the high jump stopping pad at the other end of the arena.
I returned to my lane to reluctantly get my time (which, by the way, was worse than both of my times earlier that day). I found a seat off to the side and sat down. I pulled out my camera and then put it back quickly into my bag. I no longer felt like taking pictures.
My mood was in flux. I was grateful for having run with the best, but I also wondered why I ran slower tonight than I had done that afternoon.
This is when Jeannette Bolden came over. I did not recognize her. I just felt her presence in my space.
She did not ask if she could sit down beside me, she just sat down.
The conversation (I mean the butt chewing I took) went something like this:
Jeannette: “You look a little upset.”
John: “Yeah, I didn’t do too well tonight.”
Jeannette: “I watched you from the time you got on the track until now and I knew you weren’t going to do well?
John: “Huh?”
Jeannette: “Well, for one thing, you were taking pictures of all those hurdlers instead of getting your warm up done. You probably thought you were down on this track with your heroes or idols?”
John: “Yep.”
Who is this lady and why was she talking to me? That is the question that was running through my mind.
Jeannette: “The official who gave you an invitation after your 55m hurdle race this afternoon gave you that invite because they expected you to compete tonight. And, you wasted that invitation. You should have given it to someone who was going to actually use it.
She never raised her voice. She spoke to me in a very calm yet firm tone.
“Now, what you need to do is go back to Arkansas and develop those photos. But instead of idolizing the people you want emulate, you need to put them up on a wall and draw bulls-eyes around them and come back here next year and win the whole thing!”
I was speechless.
Jeannette then got up and walked away!
That was my brief encounter with the great Jeannette Bolden.
I didn’t even know her name until Mike Conley asked me later why Ms. Bolden was speaking to me.
The entire conversation took place in less than a minute. I never saw her again, but her words that evening have stayed with me until this day.
I pondered what she said to me on the long drive back to Arkansas.
When I returned to my dorm room I did as she suggested. I developed the photos and put my old heroes on my walls as bulls-eyes. I knew she was right. I had to stop idolizing those hurdlers and realize that I was now their competitor. If I was to compete for a spot on the Olympic Team one day I would need to reverse my thinking and not just be their competitor but also their competition. The last person I needed to compete against was my own limited thinking about my own capabilities. If I was down on the track with those gentlemen I deserved to be there.
Wherever you are in life, if you are in a situation where you feel either in awe of the people in your presence or you feel intimidated, don’t. You are in the room. You deserve to be there and your voice matters.
Well, I knew that I never wanted that feeling of being unprepared in my track and field career. And, from that point on, I was determined to be the best prepared at each meet.
The next year I was off of red-shirt status and was a full-fledged Razorback.
The team went back to the Dallas Morning News track and field meet and I again ran the 55mHH. This time I was the runner up in the Collegiate Division. Thank goodness the officials were taking the top two collegiate hurdlers to the night division.
Most of the same hurdlers were in the field from the prior year. But tonight was different. I did not bring my camera to the floor. I did a proper warm-up. The announcer still skipped over my name like I had taken his granddaughter’s last bottle of formula. But, I did not care. I was there to compete.
I saw all my heroes from last year warming up and I followed their lead. I still calmed myself by putting myself in the familiar setting of Oak Park’s field house.
The clerk of the course called us to the floor and ensured we were in our proper lanes. I set my blocks and took a few run-throughs over the hurdles.
The starter called out for us to take our marks.
I again dropped to my hands and backed my legs up until my feet found the starting pads.
I relaxed, exhaled and lowered my head.
“Set.”
The gun went off and I roared out of the blocks and sprinted to the attack the first hurdle. I went over it first! I led for three hurdles and with two hurdles remaining… that is when I again saw the best hurdle race of my life!
But this time I wasn’t DL! This time I had competed.
The famed Nehemiah was in the second heat and my time was actually faster than his!
Jeannette’s advice paid off in a way I can’t begin to repay.
There are many points that can come out of this story. But, the one I want to leave you with is this. People come in and out of our lives. Some of them make profound impacts on us. They challenge us to change our perspective.
We have unique opportunities to listen to their wisdom and learn from their past experiences to better ourselves. I have witnessed too many times the person who does not want to hear what they have done wrong because they think it will be little them in the eyes of their peers. Too often we take constructive feedback as a personal attack on our character and not as a learning opportunity.
Jeannette gave me great feedback. She did it with a firmness that challenged me to grown. The last thing she did was she offered me a challenge for the next year. She just didn’t dump on me and then leave. She offered a solution that was left up to me to implement.
Whatever her reason was for coming over to me that day and speaking those words of encouragement I am grateful for. She impacted my life in a remarkable way.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/blog_jeannette-bolden_c.gif” size=”100″]I wanted to tell Ms. Bolden this story for a long time and it was only last year that I mustered up enough courage to call the UCLA Women’s Track and Field office to relay it to her. She was gracious, but I really don’t think she really remembered the story.
We often do not realize the impact we have on others. We think our small remarks are just that. But words have the power of life and death. We have to be careful how we craft them so that they are always bringing life to people and building them up.
The point is she inspired me to believe in my talents and abilities based on the work effort that I put into my craft, and more importantly, she made me realize that I was just as important as the ones I was taking pictures of on the track.
Each one of you is valuable and has so much to offer the world! If you are in a situation where you can offer words of comfort to someone or uplift them – Do It.
Thanks for reading!
Now, Go Forth and Inspire the World!
Inspiration from 2008 Olympian and Silver Medalist Emily Silver
Emily Silver (on Twitter @Emily_Silver) never says quit. It is just not in her vocabulary!
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Silver earned a silver medal swimming in the heats of the 4×100 m freestyle. But little did she know it was a long painful journey to reach the pool deck on that day.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/emily-silver.jpeg” size=”100″ align=”left”]Her story of hurdling adversity, like many of us, are filled with highs, lows and everything in between.
You see, after Emily qualified for Beijing in the 100m freestyle and secured a spot on the 4x100m relay at the U.S. Swim Trials she was confronted with a choice. Should she scratch from 50m Freestyle which was her next event? She already had accomplished her Olympic dream. A dream that began when she was only 7 years old. Her finish in the 100 Freestyle had placed her on the team. Or should she just go ahead and swim it.
She basked in the solace of knowing that her dream had just been realized. Yet, there was still one more race to go.
Her coach thought that she should swim the 50 meters. After all she did make the qualifying standard and therefore earned a lane in the 50m Prelims
Emily’s final decision was to move forward and swim the 50m Free.
She lined up in her lane for the big race!
2008 Prelims 50m Freestyle
“5o meter Freestyle… Step Up” the starters voice cracked through the still air of the natatorium.
It was the 12 heat of 12 in the Omaha indoor pool.
The 50m freestyle is just a pure sprint. Like the 100m in track and field, the winner of this race gets bragging rights as the fastest swimmer in the United States.
Emil y stepped up the short ladder to the starting block and shook her arms free. She adjusted her goggles one last time. She was in the lane 3 just next Dara Torres in lane 4 who would later become the oldest swimmer in U.S. History to compete for the Olympic Team.
“Take your mark.” The voice of the starter was low and matter of fact.
She bent over and grabbed the front of the block below her allowing herself to rock slightly backward in order to position herself properly to rocket into the pool.
“Beep” the tone went off an Emily sprung from the platform. Her lean and muscular 5’11” frame broke the water surface and she slipped below in a perfect streamline (a swimmer’s body position which allows such a shape for moving through the water with the least amount of resistance) and resurfaced with a thunderous kick while symmetrically churning her arms in rhythmic cadence as she drew near to the end of race.
When she touched the wall with her hand, she looked up and saw that she was in the top of the field and would advance to the semi finals. She had finished 12th and was 1.07 sec behind Lara Jackson who was the fastest qualifier posting an American Record in the process.
2008 Semi-Finals 50m Freestyle
In the semi’s Emily drew lane one.
The same sequence happened in the semi’s. The starter called the ladies to their mark and when all were ready, he commanded set, and then the tone sounded.
Emily again went smooth into the water and churned a wake as if she had an outboard motor strapped to the end of her feet. She pressed herself to make it to the finals. Maybe this would be the day!
She neared the wall and pressed her body forward, head down, goggles down, hand outstretched for the touch against the timing pad! She extended and when her hand hit the wall she felt excruciating pain.
She had not qualified for the finals. She finished 12th overall.
She was rushed to the doctors off and told the worst possible news. She touched the wall on her finish in such a way that her hand broke in two places.
What goes through a persons mind.
She just had the highest of highs making the Olympic Team on the 4x100m Fr Relay. Her dream realized! And now, devastation. With just a few short months before the games she has a broken hand.
What did she do?
Well I caught up with this remarkable young lady at Reach the Peak, a program sponsored by the United States Olympic Committee to help potential athletes prepare for the next games, and got her perspective on what she did to get herself ready for the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing after breaking her hand.
Take a listen to our quick 3:00 min interview to hear the rest of the story!
Enjoy the clip
The Inspiration of Puddle Splashing
View the narrated text of this blog online at: http://youtu.be/quT4Xtp-wHc
Robert Frost wrote a poem called, “Mending Wall.” It begins with the words…
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall that makes the ground swell under it…”
I won’t finish it, you can look it up. It’s a good poem and one I would like to commit to memory. (http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html)
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011_blog_splash-puddle_1.jpg” size=”50″ align=”center”]Anyway, the poem was the first thing I thought about after having a conversation with my seat mate Tina who I was next to on a very short 18 minute flight from Colorado Springs to Denver. I was in 5D and she was in 5C. Since the plane’s seating on the commuter flight is very close we struck up a polite conversation.
She was on the way to Phoenix and I to Anaheim California.
Our conversation drifted to growing up and the similar comparisons between two different experiences that wound up getting us to common ground. You see, “(she) is all pine and I am apple orchard.”
Anyway, as we chatted about growing up we quickly placed the conversation squarely on our children and the topic of puddles. Yes, those small pools of water, especially rain water, or the after effects of a good fire hydrant water park. (Some of you may remember this).
“Do you remember puddles?” I asked.
She looked at me with curiosity in her eyes.
“Puddles,” she said.
“You know puddles that appear after a fresh rain. I have never found a puddle that didn’t call out to be jumped in with either one or both feet,” I told her.
She laughed and said, “You know my boy used to always jump in puddles and get my pantyhose all splotched up with the water. Knowing I had to go to work with those splotches on my leg wear I would et so mad at him for getting me all wet.”
I laughed and told her, “As a kid I was always was jumping into a puddle. I too had probably made my mother upset with the cloths I dirtied up by getting wet.” I explained.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011_blog_splash-puddle_2.jpg” size=”50″ align=”right”]“Do you jump in puddles now?” I asked her.
“No way,” she said.
“Did you jump in puddles when you were a kid?” I asked.
“Of course I did. I used to play all the time on the playground with my friends. And, when it would rain we would splash each other. We would kick water on each other or splash the water at our intended targets by angling our foot towards them and then slamming our foot into the water,” she explained with a smile. Laughter broke across her face as she seemed nostalgic thinking about her youth.
“So, why don’t you jump in now? What’s changed,” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
I began again, “The joy of puddle splashing, or jumping in a puddle, has lost a lot of it’s appeal in our adult lives. You know, we tell our kids (like our parents told us) “Don’t jump in that puddle you’ll get wet!” I said.
“But so what! Isn’t that the whole purpose?” I continued.
“Ya know,” I told Tina, “My son and my daughter’s friends think I am a bit crazy because if I am with them and I see a puddle I jump in and make an intended splash!”
“Your Dad is so weird,” my kid’s friends say.
“So,” I said, “I always like to make my splashes big. I can do it with either one foot or both feet! I think if you are going to get wet, why not go for it all.”
Tina just looked at me with the same look as my children’s friends. Her face seemed to say, “You’re so weird.”
We laughed about it for a moment and went on to the next topic. I don’t remember what the next topic was.
However, later on I thought to myself maybe this puddle conversation is a metaphor in some ways for life?
Maybe jumping in a good puddle speaks to when you are in pursuit of something you should go all in! Don’t hold back! Show your passion and jump in with both feet. Make a big splash. Take the risk and get dirty. Of course maybe it might not be best idea to do in your Sunday’s best!
Or maybe puddles speak to the passion in pour lives. They force us to tear down our inhibitions of perfection and allow us to just have some plain ol’ get wet and dirty fun.
Or maybe still the effects of jumping in a puddle help us to see that all of us are a little dirty on the inside of our hidden lives and only we only appear clean to our friends and other acquaintances on the outside. And maybe, if we revealed a little more of our “hidden” dirty puddle effects, we would not be so quick to clean the puddle effects of someone else.
So, the next time there are puddles on the ground after a good down pouring of rain, run outside and splash about in a good puddle and bring a friend to jump in with you!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011_blog_splash-puddle_3.jpg” size=”50″ caption=”May All Your Splashes Be Big!”]Bring back the essence of your youth and allow your kids to experience this great art of splashing about! By all means have fun and by accounts may your splashes big.
Those who live in the mountainous regions of our nation, you all can wait until the late spring. Puddles to you are now called ice. Jumping on ice is a slippery slope.
In relationship to why I thought about the Frost poem was only the play on words in the first line of his poem, “something there is that doesn’t love a “puddle.” And, of course the play on two other lines, “Good Puddles Make Good Friendships and create great memories.”
Paralympian Matt Stutzman aka The Armless Archer (What?)
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/matt-stutzman-shoots.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”Inspirational Words From The Armless Archer”]Matt Stutzman can change a tire with his bare feet in under 30 seconds! No Joke!
So what inspires this young rising Paralympian?
Well I caught up with Matt at the TeamUSA BP event in Naperville and asked him.
Check out today’s inspirational clip at http://youtu.be/VznESBXR0Dw.
Lesson from a Wind Miller at a Windmill in Holland
I was in Holland a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to speak with a real life windmiller.
I thought that wind mills in Holland were used for grinding grain or creating some type of power. Boy was I way off base.
The lowest lands in Holland sit about 4 meter below sea level and each of the windmills was used to pump the water out and into dykes. In 1633 there were about 52 windmills in the region that moved, on a good day, 1000 liters of water every second to pump the water out of fields!
I was inspired by this just because of the sheer ingenuity of the process. I also learned that each mill had a family that lived inside the windmill at all times because they never knew when the wind was going to come and they had to be ready to turn the sails in the direction of the wind.
Well instead of letting me bore you with these details and writing this out, why don’t I just introduce you to Fred who operates a mill that has been in his family for generations.
Take it away Fred!