Enjoy The Moment

Does the pace of life sometimes turn into a blur for you? The past several weeks have been extremely busy for me. When there are so many things to do and the pace is fast, time seems to fly by.

Although busy times and a fast pace can be stressful and sometimes frustrating, when we look back there were also a lot of shining moments. One of the things we can do is train ourselves, regardless of the pace, to make sure we enjoy special moments.

As endurance athletes we train ourselves for the long distance. Endurance athletes are masters at looking forward toward the future, establishing long-term goals, and establishing a plan to get to those goals. At the same time, however, there are always incremental successes along the way that can keep us motivated and moving forward.

Likewise, life is a long distance event and we need to train ourselves to seize the special moments along the way. So, like an athlete with long term goals we need to enjoy the incremental moments along the way.

Over the last 2 weeks Ive been cutting down my training to about 10-15 hrs a week in order to recover from the hard race at galveston earlier this month. During that time I spent my extra hours reflecting on the hard work Ive put into my research and training over the last few months leading up to it. In doing so, I smiled at all of the little, bright moments and the people that make life so enjoyable. Things like early morning coffee with Dave, the client who thanked us, the friend who asked for training advice and attending Michelle's senior recital.

Ive also learned that I should learn how to enjoy being in the moment more. Whether its resting for 20s off a hard 400 swim or having dinner with someone, all those moments should be enjoyed and cherished for what they are.

Keeping an eye on the horizon while effectively obtaining progressive achievements along the way is a path toward long-term and future successes while at the same time appreciating the here and now. One of the strategies I implement in my training is to have a longer term, two years or so, strategic plan which is our view at and over the horizon that will hopefully get me to the Olympics someday or turn me into a World Ironman age group champion. At the same time, in order to be effective in our daily activities we need to concentrate and focus on digestible and comprehendible activities and results.

So, while we are busy in our daily lives, with our long-term goals and pursuits, take a deep breath or a step back to “enjoy the moment.”

Enjoying the moment,

Yuen

And to all who are facing exams. All the best with revision! To my dear sister all the best too and enjoy your holidays after finally finishing your med degree!