#34

Welcome to Week #34

What whisper did you hear from #33?

R U still asking the question a week later? Of yourself? Of others?

Have you settled on being OK with not being OK?

Did you reflect on which caves you’ve been fearful of entering?

How are you NOT – did that get your head spinning a little 😊

What’s struck me this week?

The Paralympics finished last week and yet again it provided some truly incredible, jaw-dropping stories of human endeavour. Here are a couple of my favourites.

 
1. The Refugee Paralympic Team

There’s only a relatively small group of people worldwide that know what it takes to become an Olympian. An even smaller group to understand what being a Paralympian is all about. Then, just to make it even harder, throw in being a refugee on top of all that – it’s hard yet inspiring to even contemplate the depths of the human spirit and endeavour required to reach that status. In reading their stories it’s impossible not to viscerally feel the humility, the will, the perseverance and determination to work with their circumstances and find a way to overcome the hand they’ve been dealt.

For me, their example remains a beacon for possibility. A lighthouse for inspiration. A continual reminder that there might be a little more potential within me – if only I dare look. Are you willing to look?

SBS News - A special team of refugees is making history at the Tokyo Paralympics

UNHCR - Refugee Paralympians leave legacy of hope as Tokyo Games conclude

The Bridge - Inspiring Stories of Refugee Para Athletes

 
2. Are you preparing yourself for the environment you’ll face in the future?

Peta Maloney is a sports scientist looking after the recovery of the Australian Paralympic Team. In Tokyo one of the major challenges the athletes faced was the heat. As Peta explained, “published evidence around what strategies work in para-athletes lags a little behind what we understand and know about able-bodied athletes”. So, in an effort to help they created the Tokyo Heat Project. Subjecting the para-athletes to extreme heat conditions in their preparation goes some way to acclimatising their bodies to the conditions they faced in Tokyo.

It left me wondering – how often in preparation do we consider the environment we’ll face in addition to the skillset and mindset required?

So, how about you? What’s the environment you’re likely to face in the future? And how can you begin to prepare yourself for that?

The Guardian - Innovation and Inner-strength

ABC - Preparing Australian Olympians and Paralympians for Tokyo

3. Making history - Dylan Alcott

Continuing on from the Paralympics, Dylan won the US Open becoming the first person to win the Golden Slam – winning all major tennis tournaments including the Olympic Gold in the same calendar year. It’s such an incredible sports story but for a few it’s also a life story that we can connect with. After his US Open win he celebrated by chugging a beer from the trophy.

Now I don’t know what Dylan is like behind the scenes but his ability to be real, genuine, fully himself – he constantly refers to the joy of having a beer with mates – particularly on the winners podium is what allows us to feel a deeper connection to his achievements. We metaphorically piggy-back on his achievements because we can see ourselves in how he responds or at least to aspire to them. It would appear that there’s no mask, no pretence, no faking what the media expects. And in doing so, we feel that little bit more connection to his story.

 
4. The negatives are temporary – Palak Kolhi

Palak Kohli is an Indian Paralympic Badminton player. In her own words “my disability has become my super-ability”.

Asked by her coach to complete a list of positives and negatives she concluded that whilst there were 2 or 3 negatives on the list they were all temporary.

I wonder how often we see our negatives as temporary? Not to try and reframe them as positives but to accept the imperfections and not get caught in the permanent trap.

How about you? Got any negative aspects going on? Temporary or forever?

BBC News - Palak Kolhi

 
5. Quote of the week

This says it all... Click here

6. Freedom Fridays - Moving from I have to, to I choose to

My intention is to openly share a change I’m making within my life. I’m hoping you can take the lessons learnt and apply them to any change you want to make.

This week I return to a solo episode. R U OK? has been prominent this week and I share some of my own thoughts about whether I’M OK? The answer is yes, but I talk about my willingness to surrender, my pattern of closing in to protect myself, especially in relationships and trying to burst through my story that everything needs to be tied up in a bow.

Check out Episode #32.

That’s all for this week and I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #34.

Feedback is my fuel so if you have any comments please send me an email at [email protected] and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers

Pete