Be Inspired Not Intimidated

I was happily running this morning on what is one of the few bright sunny (no wind!) mornings. I reflected on someone I met yesterday who truly inspired me, however, initially I was intimidated. Let me explain.

Yesterday I was participating in our church health fair. They announced that someone was going to present a brief yoga explanation to us. I looked up and saw the presenter and realized that I recognized her. I didn't know her personally, we'll call her Lisa, but I had seen her several Sunday mornings in the past couple years when she dropped off her children at the bible study that I was teaching. She has three young children, including two very active boys. "Cool, I thought. She teaches Yoga too in her spare time. " They continued to share Lisa's activites including Professor at a local college, Marine Corps Marathon runner and that she had run 16 miles before she arrived to present this am. Ok, now I was totally intimidated. I thought I was able to balance a number of things but this woman had me feeling lazy!

At the end of her presentation she walked by my table and I told her how impressed I was with her accomplishments, particularly the running of the MCM and consistent running with all her responsibilities. I asked her for some advice and told her I was preparing for my first MCM.  Lisa was not only humble but she was extremely encouraging as well. She told me that she began running just like anyone else, slow, and then her interest developed from there. With all Lisa has on her plate, her running is the one thing she does for herself. She invited me to participate in a local run during the week. She also gave me some hints about running the MCM and was very encouraging that I could certainly accomplish my goal.

The point of this story  is don't make assumptions about people and reach out and let them inspire you. We have all started at one point from the beginning. Some of us are just on a different leg of the journey.  Get out there and let others inspire you and do the same for others.

Enjoy your day!
Heidi J Cox