Run For Your Life
A trophy, I told them, was of little consequence. A race is won and forgotten. The trophy is received and rusts on a shelf. There is nothing briefer then the laurel. "So soon they forget," you will say. But so soon you will forget as well. The memorable thing is not to excel against others but to excel against yourself.
One woman Olympian who took a gold in the sprints said her joy lasted for only a few minutes. Chris Evert told a reporter that less then two hours after winning at Wimbledon, she was alone in her hotel room feeling depressed.
The real contest is within. The real trophy is the self.
George Sheehan, M.D. - from the book Personal Best