The people around ME

I want to follow up on Jim’s last blog and tell you how important YOU are to those of us with MS or other challenges. I wish that everyone had folks like Nathan, Jim, Trisha, Lynn and every member of Team Inspiration supporting them. They have truly been the key to my progress. Nathan has walked with me as early as 5 am for a year. He has studied how the MS affects me and takes great care in preventing me from doing things that are stupid and which will ultimately affect my success, even when I am not smart enough to catch myself. Jim has encouraged me more than I can ever explain, never touting his own major athletic accomplishments, but rather focusing on mine. He has shared his great wisdom with me on so many levels. Trisha has made me stronger than I ever thought possible. Lynn shares our story with others, creating positive energy that is truly monumental. In less than a year, these people have become my best friends and it feels like I have known them all of my life. All of this and every member of Team Inspiration provides me with the positive reinforcement absolutely required for success. Selflessness is the first word that comes to mind when I think of any person on this team.

The CB&I is now only a month away. I am constantly reminded of some extremely critical factors. First, Nathan gave me a year to get ready for this. If I had decided to do this triathlon a month or two from when he gave me this challenge, I would certainly have set myself up for failure. When we fail, we are likely to not keep trying or try again. I have learned patience. Great patience. They have reminded me how important each baby step has been in getting me where I am. My entire team has kept me positive. They force me not to dwell on a weak performance, but rather to focus on the improvement. I made a comment to one of my teammates recently about how I did not want the event to be closed down when I cross the finish line like what happened during the Light the Night Walk. He told me that the only important thing in what I had just said was “when I cross the finish line.” How true. I thank each and every person on Team Inspiration for taking this journey with me. It is an amazing ride. And it will just be the first of many, many adventures to come. We will wait until after the CB&I to unveil the next one but rest assured there will be more. We are just starting.

The point of this is to orchestrate your own success by surrounding yourself with folks that are positive, supportive and encouraging. You CAN do this. Remember – CAN’T NEVER DID ANYTHING!

Good luck, KEEP TRYING and my best,

-Trace