Strength through unity

By: Iciar Iribarren

October. First rains. The smell of the tartan. The stopwatch marking our times. Kilometers and more kilometers. Tiredness, a lot of fatigue. Last moment signings. Hope. Clear targets. Pre-season just to be finished.

Every sport always ends up giving you a rematch. And yes, this time is your time. It is going to be your season. Nothing will happen by chance. You are going to create your own future based on motivation, effort, effort and more effort.

Set goals! The objectives are what make us move forward, and motivate us with each stride in every  training, those that make us not to take our eyes off the road. Move forward with firm step, confidence and attitude.

I think you will all know the famous fable of "The tortoise and the hare". Well, I'll tell you the whole story so that you can understand me even more.

"In the world of the animals a very proud hare lived. He was always saying that he was the fastest in front of everyone, and constantly mocking the slow tortoise. One day the tortoise challenged the hare to a race to see who was the fastest. They chose a route, and the competition began. The hare started at full speed and running energetically. Confident in his capacity and seeing that he had a lot of advantage, he decided to sit under a tree to rest for a while. He began to get distracted by other animals, praising his skills while the tortoise, who walked with a slow pace, reached the hare as fast as he could. Step by step, little by little, the tortoise surpassed the hare and finished first, declaring himself the winner."

Success is not measured only by our physical capacity. It is measured by the direction and the energy that we put to reach the goal by ourselves through our will. If we do not stray from our goal, success will be waiting for us sooner or later. The tortoise did not despair, hearrived with his own strength, he relied on his own will without getting distracted on the way. The tortoise persevered in his effort, while the hare haughty, believing himself superior, used his time according to his comfort.

When we talk about a motivated person, focused on the objectives, we are talking about someone competent, who does not need to show that he is the best, but focuses his efforts on his goals and does not waste time measuring himself with the rival.

Well, the story does not end here:

"The hare, when analyzing its errors, challenged the tortoise again. This time the hare ran without getting away from the road reaching the expected triumph. Proving that the fast and concentrated ones can beat the constant and persevering ones. Each in his time will reach his goals. "

But let's continue with the story ...

"After being defeated, the tortoise meditated and came to the conclusion that there was no way to beat the hare in speed, but yes with some other ability. That's why he challenged the hare again but competing on a different route. The hare accepted and ran at full speed, until he reached a wide river. While the hare, who could not swim, wondered how to cross that stream, the tortoise swam to the other shore rising with the victory. "

Those who know their competitive abilities can take advantage of the other's difficulties in their own favor. If your opponent is distracted, thinking he is superior, he is nervous about the results... you can take advantage of sports to pass over with intelligence and perseverance.

"Time passed, and the hare and the tortoise ended up becoming good friends, recognizing that they were good competitors. Finally they decided to repeat the last race, but this time running as a team.

First, the hare loaded the tortoise until they reached the river, where the tortoise swam carrying the hare to the shore and again the hare loaded the tortoise to the goal arriving in a record time. Actin like this they achieved greater performance and satisfaction than the obtained with their individual achievements. "

Union and group cohesion.

It is good to feel like a good athlete with great personal skills. But for good team results, we must learn to work together and reciprocally enhance each other's skills. There will always be situations for which we are not prepared, but other people will know how to handle better, and we should learn from them. 

When we stop competing against a rival, to demonstrate who is better (and thus ensure our self-esteem), and we begin to compete against a situation, a personal challenge, integrating in a whole individual and group capacities, we compensate and prevent defects, we empower our resources ... and we get better results.

It is better to have discipline, humility and perseverance rather than pride, over motivation and carelessness. The slowness and constancy rewards the effort in the objectives. Perseverance overcomes skill  when skill doesn´t have discipline.

That said, I say goodbye with this wonderful phrase: "We are inheritors of a past and makers of a story".

Cheers in this new season 2017/18!