Impossible

This past weekend after a long EXHAUSTING day of driving all over the state cheering on our daughters in the activities they love my wife and I kicked our feet up and turned on the first movie that came up. When the TV came on the movie "The Impossible" was starting so we snuggled in. All we knew about the movie was that it was the real life betrayal of the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand causing extreme devastation. What we didn't know was how powerful the movie was going to be and how much it makes you recognize how fragile like is. The movie is about a family (any time kids are involved it pulls at my heart strings) who is on vacation enjoying the simple joys of life and in a second life changed pushing them to the extreme limits of life and death. I won't ruin the movie for those of you who have not seen the movie and if you haven't seen the movie then I recommend watching it as its a great real life story on how fragile our world and life is. When the tsunami hit Thailand it caused extreme destruction and massive casualty. For those who survived the initial wall of water the next challenge was given to them in what seemed like the impossible quest to find loved ones and safety for themselves.  

I won't pretend I can relate to what these people went through during this horrific accident and my heart goes out to every single person that lost a loved one during this event. What I will say is I know all of us have gone through struggles in our life and many times we put an initial constraint on ourselves which makes whats going on seem impossible to overcome. Whether its a health struggle, financial crisis, extreme self doubt, stressful job or lack of support from family/friends I want you to know that deep down you have what it takes to overcome what seems impossible.

I am a realist knowing that some diseases are incurable and treatment is either palliative or available to extend life longer. While I am not personally fighting a disease I know that myself and many of you can do a little extra so those that are battling diseases like cancer know that the diagnosis is not the end and with our support anything is possible. I am not sure that in my lifetime we will figure out a cure for most cancers but what I do know is that as long as I am breathing I can do everything I can do to make it possible.

As always I have to give a reference to my children as they are my personal psychologist to positive thinking in life. My two older girls who are 8 and 6 have developed what they call "The Oergel Mantra" and it goes as follows "If you give everything you do your best then the outcome doesn't matter as long as you know you did everything you could." I assume they have gathered these thoughts via listening to their parents but I also know that whats so amazing about our youth is they don't put limits on their action and they believe everything is possible. The photo at the top is my oldest this summer in a duathlon. At this point in the race there were no visible racers in front of her but as you can tell by the facial expressions she didn't give up until she crossed the finish line.

I also know that building a solid support system through your friends and family will allow you the support to always pursue your dream. Of course their will be times when something arises that seems like a road block but the support from your circle will give you that extra confidence to bypass anything difficult.

In the movie there were many road blocks along the way that seemed to distract the survivors from finding safety or family. The key to success though was to never give up and keep pushing past the obstacles or failures knowing that constant/consistent efforts increase your chances of success.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog as it means a lot to me.

Please also check out my fundraising page at:

http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/EnduranceEvents/EnduranceEvents?px=1781288&pg=personal&fr_id=1730

Make It Count!!!

Paradigm

A paradigm is the way you see something; its your point of view, frame of reference, or belief. Another word for paradigm is perception. Paradigm's can be helpful or hindering depending on your belief system and the confidence you have in yourself. Most often our paradigm's are forced upon us or formed via others opinions on us. How many times has someone told you that's impossible or you can't do something? How many times have you forced your views upon someone even though you knew it wasn't your place? Our perceptions are just that ours...we have the power to create a positive atmosphere within our belief system yet we also have the power (or lack there of) to create a demise in our beliefs thus always limiting the power to make the most of our lives and those around us.

The picture on the top is yet another picture or one of my children but like I have stated 100 times before we can learn so much from the youth if you just open your eyes. My daughter is number 23 and this is from an awesome youth duathlon in my region this summer. My point with this picture is while I watched every kid that morning every single one of them's perception was A) this is so much fun and B) I can win this. They have no perception's or doubts in their abilities. They don't let other kids or the competition get in their way of attempting to accomplish their goal. There is no talk of this is to hard or that hill is to steep. They show up with a smile and 100% belief that today is their day. What if you woke up every day and displayed the same confidence these kids do? What if you had 100% confidence in your abilities?

I want you to stop what you are doing right this second and answer the following question: Are your paradigms of yourself helping or hindering you? Negative self-paradigms are incredibly strong at putting limitations on what we can accomplish in the world. On the other hand positive self-paradigms can bring out amazing self creativity that will push you to accomplish dreams and goals you never though were possible.

Over the past year I have had the chance to meet two very incredible people who have both accomplished so much in their life and lead a life of nothing but doing their best to make the world a little better place to live. These two individuals don't know each other but unfortunately are tied together via multiple myeloma. The thing is and I hope I could be this strong is once they were diagnosed each of them instead of giving up made it their point to take their life and giving to the next level. There was no outward negative self pity but instead a show of inner strength came forward. Their self-paradigm grew into one of I am stronger than this and I will win. Due to how great of person they have been in their life the community has come out to support them and this is due to the energy they have displayed over time and the commitment to always be there for everyone else.

This leads me into my next project and one that I am so extremely excited to be a part of that my heart feels a sense of warmth and drive to be better.

Over the past 15 years I have engulfed myself competitively into the world of triathlon and I have enjoyed every single second of it. Its time to put some of that all about me self competitiveness aside  as over the next year I will be taking a step back from the competitive side of triathlon and instead using triathlon/Ironman more as a platform. My platform will be two fold in number one raising as much funds as I can for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and second trying to get across a story of inspiration and my mantra of Make It Count!!!!

Cancer has affected my family and close friends numerous times over the past couple of years and its time for me to use a passion of mine to fight a form of this terrible disease.

The following link will lead you to my fundraising page where you can read more about the cause and what I am trying to accomplish.

http://support.themmrf.org/site/TR/EnduranceEvents/EnduranceEvents?px=1781288&pg=personal&fr_id=1730

Thanks for your time and remember to MAKE IT COUNT!!!