Battered, bruised get up and run again

On one of the last Fridays in 2013 I took the kids to the Motorcross at Donnybrook and I was in for a giant treat. I thought it was for the kids particularly my son but it ended up being an experience for me. One of the inspirations and lessons was this little 10-year- old boy Mudiwa Chigumba. As he raced he fell a couple of times. One would think; particularly I thought after the 1st fall he would be wheeled of the track and spend the rest of the evening watching from the sidelines. This was not so both times he raced. His father, other men and the medic included would run to the scene. I saw them examining him, lifting him up, one of the men starting the bike and his father lifting him onto the bike and sending him off again.

Poor boy I thought for a moment, but I soon realised the point of the race. The point of the race is not only to win but to finish, you only get full points when you finish! This happened again in another race to the little boy only then did the coin start dropping. On the second time he was even crying and the bike had refused to start, but it happened again a fellow started it, the dad picked him other men encouraged him and we all cheered him off as he raced on again
Only then did the coin drop — Lessons learnt:

1. No matter how often or how hard you fall, get up and go again. Finish what you start. Some falls are harder than others but if you still have breath in you and the medic says you can go get up and race again. This is your race….there are points for finishing!

2. Who is in your circles? Whoever is closest to you when you fall matters. They determine whether you get up, recover or even get to finish the race. The dad and his peers made sure Mudiwa finished the race even when he felt he couldn’t. Surround yourself not just with cheerleaders but with stern umpires who will make sure you live up to your potential.

3. As parents we need to raise our children with finishers. I am guaranteed that this boy is destined for big things because of the lessons he is learning on the course. He definitely will finish big things. My parenting in 2014 will include this concept.
As of then , even into 2014, I will be getting up daily DUSTING MYSELF AND RACING AGAIN!
No time to waste moping on the ground your race must be finished!!

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