Hey Tea? Are you getting ready to go run?
Me: Uh. Yes?
Ok, great. I have a question for you to think about while you run. I need you to get creative for me.
It's saying something when people that you work with, know your training schedule. AND know that some of your best times to think things over is while running.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the people in my life. I believe that people come into your life for a reason. In the past 6 months or so, I have been fortunate to meet some really great people.
I think about this in terms of marriage or partnerships alot. My Mike and I have been married 19 years. Neither one of us is the same person who stepped up and said "I do." We shouldn't be. What's makes a healthy relationship is allowing the other person to become who they need to become and not suffocating them.
I think that goes beyond just personal relationships. It can be true in friendships and in business relationships. Give people the room they need to become who they need to become.
Why all of this now? Because one of the positive influences in my life and I have been talking back and forth about business ideas, but as I mentioned, it's about relationships regardless of where they start. I had just finished reading his last message when I went running. (At some point, I expect to get a bill in the mail for add-on psychotherapy fees).
It's no surprise that all of this was on my mind while I was running today.
I have my *inner circle* of people. These are people that are people that support me. Sometimes, I wished that I'd met them earlier in my life. By inner circle, I'm not talking about the gossip-girls. These are people (men and women) that I can just be myself around. If I'm having a bad day, they don't mind. They keep me laughing. They keep me thinking and pushing myself to be a better person. They raise the bar and don't mind when I fall short. They are my loudest cheerleaders when I succeed.
I had a friend who was/is an ultramarathoner. We would meet and talk and talk and talk. When you run with an ultramarathoner, you have....TIME. No matter what was going on in my life, I knew that he'd be there for me. Likewise, me for him. We ran through the start of my business. We ran through his wife's chemo.
I think this strong support network is something that endurance athletes are more open to because we show our most vulnerable side when we are tired or hurt or cramped or just think we can't go on. We know the power of a smile when we're tired. We know the value of a quiet friend when we need to talk. We know there will be someone to give us a tire tube or gel or bottle of water.
We need those types of people in our lives. I confess there are a few of those people on my support crew that I've never even met. But, their text messages and email messages always seem perfectly timed.
Sometimes, "Thank you" just doesn't even seem to cover it.
But, it is better than saying nothing at all.
