Why So Driven?

It’s easy to just recline in front of the TV and channel-hop.  It’s easy to sit for hours playing games on your phone or computer, getting square eyes and zoning out as a deniable form of escapism.  It’s easy to just waste heartbeats doing nothing much in particular, with a vague, yet misguided notion that time will never run out.  This may make you happy for a moment or you may think you are relaxing, but what do you have to show for it?

Achievement takes effort!

People have asked me many times, “Why are you so driven?”.  I asked myself this very question many times while climbing out of a warm bed before dawn to put miles on my legs or get to the dojo for yet another intense training session.  The answer was always the same …

I wanted to have something to show myself for my time on earth.  Wasting time seemed to point to a lack of gratitude for the opportunity to be alive and healthy.  I realise that I was my own taskmaster.  I wanted to look back and be proud of the race I’d run as a pilgrim journeying through this gift that is my unique life.  I wanted to feel that I’d added value to myself and to the world.  I admit that I would have liked to have left this place richer for me having been here, knowing that in return I might be valued by those I’d encountered in any meaningful way. 

Early on in my school days, I realised that my body was built for sport, and I relished its obedience to my will.  Strength and stamina did not come without a lot of effort and discipline, but the effort in itself was so enriching to me and didn’t feel like a chore or punishment.  My body was naturally strong but with added conscious determination and work, it became an amazing instrument for my success in my sport and my life. 

Why so driven?  Well, it seems only right that I played to my strengths and leaned into what my strong body and mind could offer me.  As I say in my book, “Competence breeds confidence” and as I fine-tuned my skills in my favourite sports, achieving most highly in karate, I was able to put myself to use and lead others to become disciplined and driven to achieve excellence for themselves in whatever they do. 

Every day, I chose to get up, put my gear on and try harder.  I chose a discipline of mind and body and it paid off for me in abundance.

At the end of your life will you remember the computer games you played, or will you remember the mountains you climbed, the races you ran, and the people who came alive to you in the flesh through getting out there and living at the rock face of life? 

Whatever your strengths are, know them, understand them, and then get up off your butt and go out there and use your heartbeats to experience them in full measure.  By the end of your life, your body may seem a bit worse for wear, but at least, like me, you can say that you chose to be driven to live a life of meaning.  When you’re old and thoroughly worn out by all your effort, you can be forgiven if you recline comfortably in your armchair, a little dog asleep on your lap, as you channel hop and settle in to watch the IPL.