Have a Happy Heart

Have a Happy Heart

     How much fun are you to be around? Really, are you – am I? Happy hearted people are fun to be around.  Would you rather be around someone rich and famous, or someone with a happy heart? The happy hearted people always leave you feeling satisfied. The rich, famous, etc. many times leave frustrated, incomplete, lacking, and many times disappointed or even dismayed.

     Happy hearted people don’t care about your race times or your money. They don’t care about your status or your car. They don’t really care about your house or what neighborhood you live in. They care about you. They care about your soul.

     Happy hearted people usually have friends – lots of friends. They tend to be inspirational, not selfish. You always feel they have “given” more than they have “taken.” Happy hearted people do things for other people, with no expectation in return. This makes me think of race volunteers – they are unbelievable! In Hawaii they had smiles and encouraging words for EVERYONE, Macca (the winner) and the little old ladies as well! Or, how about community, Church, or other volunteers – do you ever notice that they are usually happy?

     How important are your race results? The truth is that my best friends and family could care less how fast I go or how high I place. Even my lovely bride won’t love me any more or any less based on athletic performance. This is a very tough lesson for a competitive person to learn. The only thing they care about race wise is that if I win a medal they are happy only that I am happy – nothing more, nothing less. Wow! What a compelling example of a happy heart!

     So, let’s try to race, in triathlon and in life, in a way that develops our hearts. We doing this by helping and encouraging others, volunteering where there is no reward or prize, or just sharing a word of appreciation. If you aren’t doing it already, try volunteering at something and I guarantee you get more than you give. I believe it was Dale Carnegie who said it is impossible to be depressed if you are helping others.

     It is interesting that as we share and show our hearts to others, we increase the size of our own. I even think it makes us faster!

Let’s race with a happy heart,

David