The Champion Inside

As soon as we are out of the store and in the parking lot on the way to the car, the magic began. With my first chance to run in those new white shoes I would sprint to the car, watching my feet the entire way, and marvel at how much faster I could run in those new shoes.

The next couple days were always filled with more of the same. No matter where I was at, whether at the park, in my backyard, on the street to my friends house or in the playground at school, I would run; and no matter where I was running I always kept my eyes fixed on my shoes, blown away at how fast my feet were moving.

I knew I was running faster. I could tell. It always took less time to get from place to place and I was more dominant in foot races with my friends. I remember sometimes thinking my speed had increased so much that the wind was actually blowing through hair (which because it was the 70’s was beautifully feathered due of the comb I always kept in the back pocket of my Hash jeans).

Then invariably, as the days and weeks would pass the bright white of my shoes would begin to dull. They would scuff and stain. They would become tarnished and dirty. As the new shoes became the same color as my old shoes, my new speed would go and my old speed would return.

What changed?

I’m pretty sure that those new shoes by themselves didn’t do anything to increase my speed. But, know I ran faster. Maybe not substantially faster, but faster. When I would watch my feet moving back and forth, those white tennis shoes made it look like they were moving faster. Because I believed my feet were moving at a faster rate, my speed increased as well. Not because of the strength of the shoes themselves, but because of the power of my belief in those shoes.

As soon as the white was gone so too was my belief in my newfound speed. With no more belief in my new shoes there was no more new speed to be had.

As I look back now I realize that the magic wasn’t in the shoes. It was in my belief in the shoes. Those brand-new white tennis shoes allowed me to believe that I could run faster, and because I believed, it was so.

We need to fill our lives with brand-new white tennis shoes. We need to surround ourselves with things that help us believe we can be better, stronger, faster. That we can do more and be more. That the good were doing today can become better or best tomorrow.

For some people a motivating quote can be their new tennis shoes. For others, properly set goals put in a prominent place can be the bright white that allows them to believe. There are those who find it easier to believe in themselves when they have a list of their talents that they can review regularly. And, there are those whose family photo gives them the belief that they can be more.

What helps you believe in your potential doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that, like my new tennis shoes, you look at them often reminding yourself of how fast and far you can go. For everyone knows you run faster with brand-new white tennis shoes.

Jh-