Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Control

So I have been told that I need to not worry about those things or situations that I can't control.
I have complained to friends about certain situations and they have asked me, "Melissa, what can you do about it?" I answered, "Nothing." So they encouraged me not to worry about it.

It's the same with certain people in my life. I can't change them. I can't control what they say or do, so I have been working on not worrying about those people as well.

The problem I have with this is that the things in my life that I have no control over have controlled my life. When I was a child and things happened to me, or people did certain things, I couldn't control them, but they have molded me into who I am today. I was a kid. I had no choice in things that happened. They happened. They are part of my history, so what am I going to do about that today?

Put them behind me. That is what I am going to do. My past is just that, my past. I can't change what has happened in my life, but I can move on and change how I will respond and react to things in the future. I have held on to my past and my circumstances in my life and let them define me for too long. I have been great my whole life at just shoving my feelings down and am done doing that.

The one thing that I can control in my life is me. I can control how I react to situations. I can control what I do with my day. I need to be done relying on other people. It is great to have people in my life, but I have to realize that in the end the only person that is going to be there day after day is me, so I need to work on myself and taking care of myself and when things come along that I cannot control I will be strong enough to handle them and not let me get sidetracked as I have been in the past. If I can't control it, I"m not going to let it control me.

As you all know I will be doing Ironman Wisconsin in 2012. I was thinking about the whole control thing and racing. In a race whether it is a sprint distance triathlon or an Ironman you cannot control what happens to you. You can plan for your race down to every detail, but you toe the starting line and anything can happen. You can get sick, get a flat tire, twist your ankle, anything. How you react to it will make all the difference. If you let what happens to you on race day side rail you, you will never reach your goal, the finish line. If you let what happens to you in life side rail you, you will not reach your goals.

Today I am choosing to take back control of my life. I am choosing not to let others control what happens to me. My past is my past, but today starts the rest of my life. I am excited about things that are happening in my life. I am the happiest I have been in the longest time. I am a new person and I look forward with anticipation what my future holds.

2 comments:

Bob Mitera said...

My first Ironman I was punched in the face on my first swim stroke. On the second swim stroke I was kicked in the chin and bit my lip.

In Lake Placid, I swam the entire first 1.2 miles with three someones on my back until I could literally swim them off me.

In Canada, (we started at the same time as the pros back then) the pro pack went left when they should have gone right... I was leading the race overall until most of the pros went past. Three pro men grabbed my ankle to pull me back and move themselves forward. Not only did they catch my heel in their face but I swam a bit harder to stay in front.

Only if you let people or situations get to you are things bad. Same thing in life.

Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. - a la Dorie from Finding Nemo

When the negative people see you still going with a smile on their face THEIR INSECURITY comes to light and you become "the Terminator" or "Robo".

Fe-lady said...

I was just wondering how you know you are going to do IMWI in 2012? Are you volunteering in 2011 and standing in line the next morning? That's the only way to be guaranteed a spot-and you have to line up early!
The "control" thing-let it go. You begin to move forward only when one realizes that there really is no control! (my opinion only...) Have a great 2010 season!