Life’s False Starts Prove Great for New Beginnings!
I ran the lead off leg for the Arkansas Razorbacks 4x400m relay. I can say from experience that the race is one of the most grueling in track and field. The last 100m is the most painful of the race no matter what shape an athlete is in. Because I knew the pain was coming I used to literally cry before starting for the Hogs!
For those who don’t know how painful this race can be, I suggest going to your local track and, after a proper warm-up, attempting to run one lap, without stopping, at a full sprint. You may want to get a doctor’s note if you’re a
ctually considering sprinting the race — especially if you are out of shape. Believe me, you will cry too! But, please try not to pass out on me — I need you to read my next blog.
The best runners in the 400m dedicate themselves to a rigorous training regime so they are able to run several rounds of races before the finals in large competitions and one of the most crucial points of the race is the start. In general terms the shorter the distance the more important the start becomes. It is critical for the athlete to have the best start possible in order to be competitive. The longer the race the start is not as crucial because the runner can make up more time during the race.
In the 400m, the start is a critical part of the race, although it is less important than in the 100m because it is a longer race and the athlete can make up more time during the race due to the greater distance.
Now on to my story. Christine Ohuruogu, a 400m sprinter from Great Britain, false started in the 400m. This is almost never heard of. She instantly was removed from her lane as per the rules and was unable to contest for the medal in the 400m dash at the world championship race in 2011.
American 1-lap Queen Sanya Richards-Ross stated, “It’s so rare that you hear the second gun in the 400m – I thought it was a malfunction,” she told the BBC. “In the call room we were like, aw man. I’m disappointed for her.”
Consider that Ohuruogu had worked all year to get into form and into the world championships. All of the grueling workouts, all of the months of training, all of the injuries overcome, that led up to this one race were rendered useless because of one false start, in one race.
- She was devastated.
- Her teammates were devastated.
- Her coaches were devastated.
- Her competitors were even sympathetic to her plight, and became more aware of the consequences of a false start.
- The media – “cheeky”
It is so easy to be critical and put ourselves in the shoes of others and say “I would never do that.” But really, how many of us have made a mistake, a straight up boneheaded mistake in life? I know I have. The difference is our mistakes aren’t broadcast to the world for others to judge, as Christine Ohuruogu’s was.
Wouldn’t it be great if we all took the mindset to pick people up when they make mistakes? Recognize the error – yes, but don’t let someone live in that one mistake, forever. Think about it?
- How many of these moments can you change in a day?
- How many people can you help back up?
- What would you do seeing someone at a low point? Would you help them up, like Christine’s coaches and teammates, or would you kick them while they are down like the media at the 2011 Track and Field World Championship?
We all know when we have made a mistake and people aren’t telling us anything new when they talk about our mistakes. They are only restating the obvious without offering any constructive advice. I think a lesson on how to deal with a negative situation and turn it in to a positive is in order.
In his book, One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard has a section entitled “The One Minute Reprimand.” The reprimand begins with something good the employee, or in this case the athlete has done, before allowing the employee or athlete to articulate their feelings about what went wrong. It is then followed by several things a person can do to correct their mistake and a statement about how they are valued as person despite their mistake. This method of mistake correction is a great tool to have in your arsenal and will help the person reprimanded perform better in the future.
So, back to Ms. Ohuruogu. Even though she was disqualified from the open 400, 1 year later she learned from the error (maybe used it as inspiration) and blasted to a silver medal in the London Olympic Games!
The London papers were ecstatic, less cheeky, Ms. Ohuruogu performed brilliantly through the rounds and then won the silver medal! Despite the 2011 setback she hurdled her adversity and demonstrated the true spirit of an adversity overcomer.
When faced with adversity, you can decide whether to settle into your setbacks, or to roar forward and make the best of bad situation.
I believe low points in life allow for the highest potential and from mistakes we can surge back to triumph over adversity and then we can share our lessons with others to inspire them to greatness!
Go forth and inspire your world!
John
HOPE and PEACE Through Sport
Hope: Hope is the belief that circumstances in the future will be better.
Last year I asked the following question on Twitter, “Would you ever want to sit down and break bread with the person who hurt you or who altered your life significantly by their actions. But, in doing so also put you on a path for redefining who you were?
When I had two legs and was a soldier in the U.S. Army I was on the All-Army Track & Field Team. I had the fortunate experience to qualify for two Olympic Trials. I competed once in the 110m high hurdles and once in the 400m hurdles. It was an incredible experience to be ranked as high as 25th in the 110’s and 17th in the 400’s. It meant I had met the Olympic standard.
Another incredible experience I had was making the Armed Forces Track & Field Team and competing in the World Military Championships, also known as CISM. These games, which are for military members only, are hosted in various countries one year prior to the next Olympic/Paralympic Games.
According to Wikipedia, “The International Military Sports Council (IMSC) or Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), established 1948, is one of the largest multidisciplinary organizations in the world. It was founded on 18 February 1948 with Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as its first five members, today, it is the second largest sports body in the world after the IOC, and organizes various sporting events, including the Military World Games and World Military Cup for the armed forces of our 133 member countries.”
The cool thing about CISM is that soldiers who may previously have met on the battle field, now meet in friendship on the sports playing field. Sports becomes the platform for healing the scars of war. The CISM motto is, “friendship through sport.” A motto that profoundly resonates with me.
When I was in Lido di Ostia, Rome, the competition location where the military CISM took place, I was amazed, awestruck, and even stupefied that countries that had fought wars against each other were marching into Opening Ceremony together for a competition on the playing field of sport. Later, I saw the same countries breaking bread and eating breakfast or dinner with each other. I was inspired to say the least.
According to the United Nations Website on Sport for Development and Peace, “Sport has a unique power to attract, mobilize and inspire. By its very nature sport is about participation. It is about inclusion and citizenship. It stands for human values such as respect for the opponent, acceptance of binding rules, teamwork and fairness.”
All one has to do let a soccer ball loose on a field throughout most of the world and people from all walks of life will come running to play the game. It does not matter their social status, their class, race, ethnicity, gender or age, they come to play.
But can sport be the platform for larger issues such as war. CISM seems to have a perspective on this topic that I find fascinating. Putting teams together that compete in friendship is far better than competing for the high ground against an enemy using live rounds.
Having fought with the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm and against the Iraqi Army, I don’t know what my mental state would be if I were to meet up with one of the Republican Guard who might have killed one of my battle buddies. When my CISM experience happened the Gulf War had not yet kicked off. So, I can only speculate on what my reactions might have been.
Yet, I do know that soldiers who are engaged in battle fight for their comrades to come home. They share a common bond of being in the fight together. It is a unique bond of brother and sisterhood that only those who have been in any battle can truly attest too. And, if a person ever served in a combat zone they (we) do not come back the same. It does not matter whether that person was in serious skirmishes, a large battle or was out on patrol; war just changes a persons perspective on life.
When I ended my term of service from both the Military and the Civilian sector of the United States Army I found myself in a unique opportunity. I was in a place where I would be able to help other injured veterans (as I was helped); overcome their mental, physical and spiritual state after an injury through the use of sport.
This program which started out with a small sports clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has grown into a vibrant and robust platform for injured military veterans to utilize sport as part of their rehabilitation.
It was then that I thought back to my time at CISM in Lido di Ostia, Rome, and the motto, “Friendship through sport.” Sports is a powerful platform for bringing people together from all walks of life. I began to think that with the current conflict / war that was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, would there be a place for sport in the future to allow healing to come to these warring nations?
Now, I don’t believe that sport in of itself has the power to do it. I just believe it can be used as a tool or platform to enhance the opportunity for change. It is up to us to change and that change comes from being inspired.
George Bernard Shaw say this about change,
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
There are three platforms I believe work to bring solidarity and change.
The first one I have been discussing is sport.
Sport just has a way of creating a safe environment for opposing ideas to be vetted. Every team wants to be the victor and yet they play (generally within a set of rules). It is also platform to bring about many social changes.
I think about how China’s doors were re-opened to west by a simple game of ping pong. Or, how South Africa came into a better state of solidarity after the oppressive rule of Apartheid through World Cup Football (soccer to U.S. folks) as was depicted in the movie “Invictus.”
Sir Ludwig Gutteman first introduced the idea of using sport as a tool for rehabilitation back in 1948. He is considered the founder of the Paralympic movement. His idea was that sport (the sport of Wheelchair basketball) was perfect for getting soldiers who suffered spinal cord injuries in WWII to advance in life based on the competitiveness of this sport platform.
The second platform for uniting people is music. Music is a part of every culture. People who play in bands or in orchestras can play anywhere in the world and with anybody who knows how to read music. Even if a person does not know how to read music, they generally can hum a tune on key.
The final platform that brings people together is food. People have to eat and conversations are always better, or worse, when food is around.
Think about it, when you go out to a new location whether abroad or in the close proximity to where you live, how do you usually describe that location? Many of us say, “The food was great.” And then the conversation goes on from there. Food is the third element that brings us together. Why? Because everyone has to eat!
Check out the “World Peace Festival” that happened on October 1st 2011 in Hawaii.
Now, getting back to CISM.
My thought was similar about the end state of how sports could shape a world. My hypothesis is that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are the closest venues to peace on earth that the world has.
All countries compete under the banner of peace.
Other people exploit this sport banner to advance their own social causes. They do this because their social cause gets greater attention when focused on an event that draws so many global viewers.
Visa even has a commercial on right now called, “Go World”, which celebrates the commonality of sport in all of us.
So, if the Olympic and Paralympic Games are close to peace on earth, then CISM gets more at the root of countries that have fought against each other and builds a bridge for them to dialogue.
This might be a scenario. A soldier injured by a roadside bomb or his counterpart, who was also injured in a similar fight on the same battlefield. Both heal in their respective countries with sport as the mechanism. They both grow strong and understand that the disability is not in their physical condition, but rather the limitations that only their minds hold for them.
They attend their countries respective sports camps and make the Paralympic team (Games for athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments). The CISM games, which comes one year prior to the Paralympic Games hosts and event and these two athletes are competing for their respective counteries.
The two athletes march into the stadium under their nations flag and eventually meet up on the field of play. They engage in dialogue and discover that they share a commonality: they were both in the same fight, and both were injured on the same day in the same location.
Later they find themselves breaking bread over dinner and they are able to talk about their experiences with each other through hand gestures, facial expressions and other non-verbal forms of communication.
The physical scars are still visible, yet healed, but the internal wounds are still fresh. And still they are able to talk about their lives to each other and eventually come to a mutual soldiers respect, that the battle is over so the healing can begin.
Some people might be reading and find this as a hard concept to grasp. Breaking bread with your enemy is very hard and I don’t suggest this blog to be flipped. But there are examples of solidarity that resonate in this space of soldiers returning to where they once fought to make amends with the damage that was done both physically and emotionally.
The concept of soldiers going back and making peace in the areas they fought is not new. Soldiers still go back to France and recount the days of WWII and Normandy landing.
Vietnam veterans go back to Vietnam and make amends for the harshness of war that happened so long ago. In our minds we are decades removed, but for many, that experience is still being lived by the minds of those who fought it.
One of the most heroic of all revisits is the story of Lou Zamparini. You have got to read this guys story. There is a movie coming out about his life as well. This guy went back to make amends with people who used to beat him senseless while he was a prisoner of war!
For the past seven years I have been softly pursuing a gathering of injured veterans like this. A chance for true healing to begin. The war is over. The scars remain. And, scars can heal. I believe sport has the power to heal some of those scars. And, it won’t hurt to have some good music and better food to go along with healing process.
Three weeks ago a giant step was taken to make this vision a reality.
So, I ask the question again, “Would you ever want to sit down and break bread with the person who hurt you the most? Who altered your life and through their actions gave you a new you?”
If soldiers can do it, it begs the question to us all, can we make the first step towards amends with those in our lives who have hurt us the most?
I would enjoy the opportunity to hear your thoughts and opinions on this topic. Let me know what you think. And, stay tuned, because big dreams may just become giant realities in 2012!