I ran track in high school. I remember we had t-shirts for the track team that read "Track: where there is a place for everyone." And there was. I wasn't the best, but I got to compete, to try. I learned about how you could both be an individual and part of a team, that it is important to try new things and fail before having competency (let's just say triple jump is hard), and that sometimes your role is to cheer on the sidelines.
I was a sprinter, hurdler, and jumper on my high school track team. And yet my coach consistently tried to get me to run longer distances, run cross country. How could I do this thing that required a whole different set of skills, required me to slow down? I wasn’t a “runner” per se – I was a sprinter.
Then in my late 20's something changed. I wondered if I could run in a 5k. Then I started to meet friends at a park, in the dark, to get miles in before my workday. I began understanding the joy of longer distances. I began calling myself a “runner.” Half marathons became my "sweet spot." I began a quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states (and DC). I became a runner.
It took practice. Literally putting one foot in front of the other. Waking up in the morning and calling myself a runner and knowing runners run, actually put in the miles – so I better lace up my shoes and go. I had to live into what I wanted to become, I had to consistently practice being a runner.
What do you dream of becoming? A writer, a swimmer, a singer? Ask yourself – what are the practices of that person? A daily writing habit, actually swimming, vocal strengthening? Then begin doing those things. Practice.
Now, when you do this resistance will come up. Undoubtedly you are jumping to the final conclusion: writing a book, swimming in a meet, performing live. You may not believe you can call yourself that “thing” unless you have some final product. But you are a writer because you write, a swimmer because you swim, a singer because you sing. You practice consistently.
Thinking this way has helped me realize many of my dreams:
I am a yogi
I am a runner
I am a writer
I am a coach
What are you? What are your practices? What are you becoming?