News

If you've been anywhere within 10kms of me, you would have heard that I like to run. Last weekend I crossed the finish line of Gold Coast marathon. It wasn’t’ my best race, but it will be one I celebrate that I achieved. Not from the race day, but from the journey to get there.

Like many people, I was entered for this marathon in 2021, did all the training, all the mental preparation, and a week before it was canceled due to Covid.This year, I had done the training. I had done the hard yards. I had done the kilometers and I had seen my progress build over this period.

As the day crept closer, the achievement of how far I had come to get to the start line became more apparent. I got COVID in the lead up,  suffered some little injuries but  I made it to the start line. Despite not my best race day, I also made it to the finish line.

Of course, we want to celebrate when we finish a marathon. If we get a personal best or what time we finish. But it has become evident when we live such busy and manic lives as parents, that we should also celebrate getting to the start line.

Getting to the start line of anything takes a Village. It takes commitment. It takes you putting those negative thoughts in your head into a little box and just getting the job done.In life, like a marathon, we should not just be celebrating our wins when we cross the finish line.. We need to start celebrating the small wins of our day-to-day activities. Those day-to-day tasks which we need to achieve to get to our goal.

I urge you to take this time and take a moment to pat yourself on the back. Pat yourself on the back for taking the journey and staying on the road, especially when falling off would have been easier.

Some days those day-to-day tasks feel like a marathon. Some days those tasks are almost too much to comprehend. However, once you get them completed you are that much closer to your end goal.And it does not matter if you don't ever reach that goal.

And the same goes for our little loves. We need to celebrate they did the research along the way, to make those decisions on what their project was and then completed the Oliphant Science Awards. We need to celebrate that they attended every swimming practice training, even if they didn’t get to compete in the Championship. Some days, we need just to celebrate they have walked through those school gates, on their own.

Obviously, we want to celebrate the Project or the Championship if we make it there. But if we don’t, there's been so many little wins along the way that we do need to acknowledge.

So, I ask you to take that time and take a look into your life as to what are you giving yourself the opportunity to say “Well done”.  To say “I’m proud”. To say  “I got that completed”.

Take the time to look at what you have achieved on the path to your end goal. And if you do not reach the finish line, still take that time to say well doneand congratulate yourself on getting to the start line.

Because the finish line is just the celebration. It is just the time to reap the rewards of your progress. So, if you don't get there, you have achieved so much in that lead-up.It could be a small task or big old marathon. Both are the same, both are important. Both had a road that you needed to travel to get there and that deserves to be celebrated.

Find some time during your day to celebrate the journey.