Most of us can look back to each important milestone in our lives and point to an event or moment in time that started a kind of chain reaction leading up to the achievement itself. I once read that life is best described as “a journey of discovering ourselves”. And this journey is lined with changing life circumstances, requiring us to adapt and meet new challenges along the way. But dealing with change isn’t easy. And change must start with a single action or pivot point.
For the runners out there: Can you remember your first running race? For the new triathletes: Perhaps you can remember the day you first swam 1 entire kilometer without resting? For those who let their weight get out of control and reversed course: Remember the first day you took that control back? And for those who broke difficult habits like smoking: When was the day you bought your last pack of cigarettes? When we think back to our greatest accomplishments, none would be possible without taking that first step.
I’ve got several personal “firsts” I could share. The one I wish to highlight here is the day I realized it was time to change my attitude towards health. I was in my early 30’s, working hard, studying in grad school, and living a very busy lifestyle. I had grown significantly overweight during the previous few years. One night following an attempted short workout, I felt a sense of fatigue and discomfort in my chest never experienced before. Simply put: It scared the shit out of me. I remember having dinner with an NYU professor when I first noticed the feeling. I recall the extra effort required to walk up the stairs leading to my apartment that evening, and how I collapsed onto my couch. Luckily the pain ended with a false alarm, but it was the life event when I finally realized not taking my health condition more seriously could be potentially fatal – and I had to do something about it. I finally did. I made the first step and started taking consistent slow jogs for 20-30 minutes at a time. Within a few weeks, I surprised myself with an undiscovered attraction to long distance running. Over the next few months, my basic understanding of nutrition improved dramatically. Less than one year from that very day, I had lost about 20 kilograms and completed my first half marathon. And seven months after that, my first marathon. Six marathons and dozens of running events later, I’m still at it. Most importantly, the weight came off, and stayed off, for more than ten years and counting. I’ll always remember that day in New York, and thankful for the pivot I made in my life and the events that unfolded thereafter.
When we started Warsaw International Triathlon Club, we thought we were organizing a group of like-minded individuals with whom to swim, bike and run. But what we ended up with was so much more. We created a platform to socialize through sports; a multicultural community in a predominately monoethnic country; and a support network to counterbalance the human tendency towards self-doubt and help take that first step. So today, StartLine Foundation along with WITC will thrive in Poland as a social impact enterprise with a mission to address these very issues. A community to build bridges, empower, encourage and educate.
In recent years, I’ve had the pleasure of observing others make their own life-changing decisions, and the joy and happiness that often accompany them. So how about you? Have a life-pivoting, first-step experience to share? Or perhaps at this moment, you’re personally ready to…“Step up to the StartLine”? J I’d really like to hear about it!
