Web Theologian

In Race Lesson 1: Go beyond your desire to quit, I mentioned the challenge that the swim leg of the SeaFair Olympic Triathlon caused me. It was great to get through that experience but it immediately led me to action for improvement. The number of years that I have dedicated to running and the expertise that I have gained in that area cannot be duplicated with swimming. Therefore my goal is not to make swimming my strength in triathlons.

To date the gains I have made in swimming have been through self study and practice, there are a few fundamentals that I understand about good form. Now that I have more experience it is time to find an expert to help me incrementally improve that area of my race. As I mentioned my overall race time was respectable, middle of the pack for my age group and the swim was exactly what I expected it to be. Therefore if I can make moderate improvements in swimming I will advance up the ladder in my age group rapidly. My self education in this area has gotten me as far as I can go, therefore it is time to seek an expert. Since my greater goal is to move beyond the middle of the pack for Olympic Triathlons and complete an Iron Man.

Over the years I’ve come to the reality that I cannot be an expert at everything, it is not realistic and therefore there will always be weakness in my life. Working in teams and the management has taught me to seek those who challenge me in my weaknesses, these are people that are key to success. For example, one area you may notice is in my blog, I need an editor:) This is key when I’m developing captivating materials in my work for clients, if quality assurance is my sole responsibly we have not developed the strongest possible team.

Having people around me that are experts where I am weak is not easy on my ego, therefore I’m learning how to continue to listen and take in their perspective. Often these experts are not even directing their talking at me but rather what we are working on. When they are talking to me, they are inviting me to expand my mind and see how the world can be better because of what they uniquely bring to the table. This place of humility and openness is often more easily said then done, but even as I write about it I get excited.

In my next lesson I’d like to explore doubling down on your strengths, so pay attention for Race Lesson #3

“Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig. (150)”
― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success