Winning Success Tip – Show Up!

Today I finished first in my age group in a 5k running race. Today I beat the woman who was holding first place by 37 seconds. Today I got a red first place ribbon – my first ever!! Today I am a winner!! Yay for me!!

And yay to all the other runners who were out there today from age 10  to 80+. They are all winners because they showed up and did their best.

The Snowflake running series is a regular winter event in the town of Orillia which is about a 90 minute drive north of Toronto. The series includes three 5k events and a 10k on New Year’s Day. To place in the series you have to complete all four races. Today I also got a medal for finishing 2^nd overall in my age group based on my combined times in the four races. A double winning day for me! That’s because I kept showing up.

The race organizer talked about how significant it was to show up. That’s what makes the series exciting.

He emphasized that it was something to be proud of to get up early four times on a Sunday or New Year’s day and brave the elements to compete in a winter running series. Especially because we never knew what the weather would be. In December we ran on snowy messy roads. January 1 was rain and +9C/48F. Today on January 9 it was -14C/7F…windy and COLD!!

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Woody Allen is often quoted for saying “80% of success is just showing up.” Seems simple doesn’t it? Just show up. Yet when I pause and reflect on it for a moment, I realize there’s a lot that goes into showing up. Making a commitment to myself to participate. Being willing to test myself to see how much I can improve. Having clear goals and a sense of purpose. Challenging myself to do my best and get a red ribbon. Believing in myself. These are the things that helped me show up four times over the last six weeks and achieve success.

What does ‘showing up’ mean to you? What factors contributed to a time when you ‘showed up’? What did you accomplish as a result of ‘showing up’? Where can you ‘show up’ more right now in your life to achieve success?

I’m very proud of my red ribbon. However, I think perhaps the biggest reward from running the Snowflake series is the feeling of camaraderie and competition among a community of people who also show up. And knowing that when we said today “see ya next year” that we will in fact show up and do it all over again because we inspire each other to do our best and achieve success. Here’s to next year!