Is 92 the New 30?

All Boats Rise and Fall with the Tide

We are the sum of the people we surround ourselves with. If you prefer to lead a more sedentary and relaxed lifestyle, surround yourself with people who would like to do the same and you will find comfort and support within that community. On the other hand, if you like the idea of challenging yourself and seeing what is truly possible for your life, surround yourself with people who believe what you believe and you will be amazed at where that journey might lead.

Take Lew Hollnder for example. Lew is a 92 year old Ironman triathlete. At 84, Lew was the oldest person to ever finish an Ironman triathlon and at 92, he is still participating in the sport he loves because he continues to invest in that identity every day. I personally believe the world needs more wellness role models like Lew .

When I started my own triathlon career, I had no idea what I was getting myself into or what I was capable of. Then I started surrounding myself with other Ironman triathletes and that new community of friends not only influenced my own outlook on life, they inspired a ripple effect of wellness across my entire social network.

You see, most "normal" people don't have triathlon friends. They go through life living no better or worse than anyone else and their outcomes are left to genetics and chance. Not a great recipe for success.

Train, Reflect, Repeat

Triathletes on the other hand love the idea of training and planning. Ironman triathletes leave very little to chance. Train, Reflect, Repeat. We map out a training process for 12 months and then execute on that plan, working on the limiters along the way that might be holding us back. I believe that triathlon by its very nature inspires curiosity in a very good way. I'm now 15 years into my journey and the process just keeps repeating and getting better.

Today, business though leaders like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believe that we need to shift from "know it all" to "learn it all" mindsets. I wonder if Satya has any triathlon friends rubbing off on him because this is exactly how triathletes are trained to think.

Where do you see yourself when you are 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years old? Are you investing every day in that future version of who you aspire to be? The answer to that question is yes, we all are. The only problem is, some of us are investing in a healthier version than others. It all boils down to what you believe.

If you believe that growing old includes a sicker, weaker, frailer version of who you are today, than that will likely become your reality, because that is what you believe and invest in daily. If on the other hand, you are investing in something more and you believe that more is possible for your life, then you are the type of resilient leader the world desperately needs more of today.

Resilience is about developing the confidence and competence to thrive in life. It's about dealing with adversity head on, learning from those experiences, and growing so that you are better prepared the next time around. We can't choose when and how adversity will strike, but we can choose how we prepare and react to it.

I have been training as a triathlete for over 15 years and I can say from personal experience that 55 feels like the new 25 for me. Developing your resilience muscle is a process, much like the process triathletes use to train, 365 days a year. We plan for adversity (training load), growth (overall well-being) and recovery so that we maximize our potential and minimize our exposure to failure (injury).

The good news is that you don't have to be a triathlete to learn from one. You don't have to be a triathlete to be resilient. You just need to learn how to become the resilient leader you hope your kids will be. Why? Because your kids are watching you, they are going to grow up to be just like you, so be the resilient leader you hope they will be. Need some daily inspiration? Follow me and let me be your virtual resilience mentor, just like Lew has been a virtual mentor to me.

Next up, Ironman Muskoka 2022 , just 3 months out from race day. My son Warren and I have been training together since last summer for his first major milestone in his Ironman Canada journey. We have endured an exceptionally cold winter and haven't missed a single training day. Even during our 6am -35 degree runs in the winter, we show up every day eager to go and with a smile on our face. Why? Because we know only too well that life is just windows of opportunity and we both know that those windows won't always be open.

Carpe Diem - Seize the day!

#resilience #resiliencecoach #resilienceforleaders