The deep dive into the complexity of what makes us human beings and the levels and layers of our intricate design make for a rollercoaster ride of unbelievable excitement as we investigate and interrogate that which makes us tick. Until we actually recognize and realize who, what where when and very importantly our Why we do the things we do, it becomes extremely difficult to navigate the way to truly experiencing and finding real fulfillment and our full expression.
As extreme type athlete's the need to bring your WHOLE- self is vital if you are to be your best and rather than only compete, you can truly run your own race and achieve at a level you never imagined. Our Head - Heart and Bodies are all needed to operate optimally to Achieve your best results. Pure Performance requires Flow and this flow is elusive because we often blocked by many factors that are often hidden or sit in blind spots we cannot see.
The Heart is Magnetically 5000 times stronger than the Brain - so when we are talking about maximizing our energy and engaging in a way that is integrated - we have begun to face what I call the New Frontier of true Sports Psychology- the next wave to fully being expressed and bringing our entire person on board to show up with the Real Me!
Education for the Soul is a deeply needed quality - vital for today's world in order to navigate your way in the constant barrage of change and need to constantly adapt. AQ ADAPTABILITY.
How do we develop Patience- Kindness to ourselves and even compassion for others? Does any of this really have any bearing on me and my athletic prowess? I answer this with an analogy of a Beautiful Yacht in the Bay. It can have the latest greatest technologically advanced paint work- optimized keel- and sails you could wish for- with hardwood interiors and nappa leather fine furniture and the highest spec Tech - but with two tiny punctures in the hull - it all ends up at the bottom of the ocean. The little boy with his finger in the dyke!!!
It's not always comfortable work because it’s so foreign- we have been taught to avoid vulnerability at all costs- and the fear of exposure and being embarrassed are high on most lists. Yet it's the very essence of what we all deeply long for and crave - Connection. It's in our DNA- and we are bankrupt without it and yet so few of us have it.
Fun- Famous and Favorite- is what we need to find in ourselves. You cannot escape the fact that Life will dish up challenge and disruption- it will throw you curveballs and at time rock your world and devastate your ideals. Life and Death - Loss and Love are all parts of the journey- but when you start to get that nothing is lost that doesn't get found and when endings happen beginnings are born. Sadness is not the whole story and Joyfulness can become a strong suit in the face of the harshest opposition. That the flames meant to destroy may just be the activation of your true Beauty.
Developing your Whole self can be Good for you and even make you feel better and or happier with yourself.
Take A Minute-! One minute and just be still. Just sit and Be there with all the rush and business of life and say – I love you…. I think you are Great.
Dam that’s difficult…. For many of us un practiced at taking any time to just acknowledge ourselves long enough to actually feel present in the now and breathe for a moment while we allow the rush of life’s incessant buss to be quiet.
Now despite all that is happening- and no matter how silly or foolish you feel, say it again- I love you –and I think you Great.
If you managed to pull that off, you one of very few who can actually take the time to be kind to yourself. It feels so awkward because it’s so unfamiliar. We are never taught to be this way and so its foreign and can typically be confronting of our deeply driven and self-destructive nature- making any form of vulnerability or perceived weakness seem infantile or childish.
Yet the process and progress to expressing our true selves and the joy of being someone who carries less stress and care and more kindness and connection is the challenge to keep disrupting our basic program and survival formatting and slowly but surely inviting New ways of being into our world. Looking closer at our behavior and what motivates the always already way of being, I got issues, behavior and be courageous enough to interrogate the fears we try to fob of while we allow the soft gentle inner voice to whisper – Relax- Rest a while – everything is ok.
*Dave Vaughan, is a Registered Financial Planner and is a Director at Lifestyle coach, as well as a qualified Integral Coach. He is passionate about the importance of transformation and the journey to get there. Dave has been married to Hester for 25 years, is father to, two grown children James- 20 and Gabi 17 and currently lives in Cape Town. Dave has completed an Ironman.