The Porta-Potty

My brother turned somewhere around 60 the other day, and at his party I got to talking with a man who does triathlons. He's an interesting guy ~ and his developing philosophy of competition was really interesting. Here is his story:

His first triathlon was a strenuous circuit that any new athlete would find challenging, and he stopped in a porta-potty a few miles into the race. He was beginning to panic that he would not be able to finish. It occurred to him that this porta-potty was the only place along the circuit where could he sit unobserved. If he stayed here, no one would know he quit.

His thoughts turned to the family and friends somewhere along the route waiting to cheer him on, and so he pressed on. Each mile he would pass that blue and white porta-potty, and each mile it would say to him, come and rest, no one will know.  Mile after mile he saw them, and each time thought about how easy it would be to quit. The porta-potty had been put there as an aide for the athletes but it nearly undid him.

He was struggling and contemplating the temptation with straining muscles and exhaustion when he came around a bend lined with family and friends, his wife and kids cheering him on with waving flags and leaping with excitement. And all that energy lined his arteries and muscles and heart with new-found strength which carried him the rest of the way.

He lost the race but not the lesson, and that lesson ended up defining his competitive spirit for life. Reaching for a goal is like being in a triathlon: it takes endurance past what you think you can do and there are constant opportunities to fail. It is often those you love who make the difference between failure and success and are huge motivators all through life.  And with all of that, if you believe in yourself and don't lose sight of the goal, the porta-potty becomes nothing more than a pit stop along  the way.