As I line up for Day 1 of the Sea to Sky Hard Enduro Beach Race, part of the World Hard Enduro Series, a thought cuts through the noise in my head: “๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ?”
This isnโt your average beach race.
Far from tropical vibes, this track is an obstacle course designed to push enduro riders to their limitsโjumps, truck tires, loose sand, and large rocks.
The organizers clearly had a blast putting it all together.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ.
50 years old.
Undertrained.
Drenched in sweat under the relentless heat.
Riding a crappy rental bike.
No experience jumping.
Never ridden in loose sand.
Itโs only my second enduro raceโever.
Oh…….and Iโm up against the best Hard Enduro riders in the world.
“๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ?”
Imposter Syndrome hits me hard. The feeling of not belonging.
The thoughts flood in:
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด? ๐โ๐บ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฝ?
๐โ๐น๐น ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐น.
๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐. ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
๐ง๐ผ ๐บ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฑ, ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
But then, something clicks.
๐โ๐บ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ A๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ.
That phraseโbeing in the arenaโechoes in my mind, bringing to life Theodore Rooseveltโs words:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…”
๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ.
Itโs okay if I come up short. Itโs even okay if I fail.
But whatโs not okay? ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น.
The Arena can be anything. Whether itโs:
– Starting your own business
– Losing those 10 kilos
– Building better relationships
– Getting that promotion
– Achieving more time freedom
The setbacks in the process are inevitable, and so is falling short.
But none of that matters as much as being in the game.
๐ฐ, ๐ฏ, ๐ฎ, ๐ญโ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ง.
I grip the throttle, the engine roars beneath me, and sand sprays into the air as I launch forward.
๐โ๐บ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ.
———-
What about youโwhat arena are YOU in?
Imposter Syndrome and Why You Need to be In the Arena
