There are times for reflection that occur in everyone’s life.

One of these times happened for me surrounding the tragic loss of three members of the triathlon community around the time of the Forster half Ironman. This prompted me to focus on what I really considered to be important in my life. From this reflection I would like to share with you two ideas, the first about gratitude and the second about balance.

The idea of gratitude came from the words of the late Michael Atkins. After triumphantly winning his age group at the Forster half Ironman, he was given the opportunity to speak at the awards. He graciously thanked his parents and coach for their ongoing support, which helped him achieve this excellent result. For me, this reaffirmed what I learnt about triathlon: that it is not an individual performance. I know that for me personally I wouldn’t be able to achieve the results I have without the support of my fiancé Nicole, my daughter Jordan, my family, my coach Bill, my sponsors and many others.

The philosophy with which I approach triathlon, and indeed many aspects of my life, is that the end result is a product of the love and support shown to me by a myriad of people. I feel it is important to me to thank these people along the way. How many people help you achieve your goals, whether it be triathlon or otherwise?

When was the last time you showed your appreciation? It is very important to not take those around you for granted, because life is a short and precious thing.

The story is told of the rich businessman who is lying on his death-bed and thinking about his life. He doesn’t remember all of the long hours he worked and his bank balance does not even enter his mind. What matters most to people in these moments of clarity are the people and the relationships that mean the most to them. We all, at one time or another, remember the really important things in life. But when do we act on these thoughts and actually do something about making these things a priority in our lives?

This notion of not taking things for granted is linked with the idea of balance. With triathlons it is common sense that training alone does not make a good performance. What is required is a balance of the correct training program, proper recovery, healthy diet, and the right mental attitude. In themselves, these areas also require balance. This is true of life itself.

When you focus on one area and neglect others you lose the balance that enables you to be happy, healthy and achieve your full potential. I know that I can attribute my consistently good performances over the last twelve months to having a more balanced lifestyle. This has been a series of conscious decisions that haven’t always been easy. Sometimes it is easier to remain in your comfort zone even if it means you are out of balance. It is difficult to challenge oneself to make the move towards equilibrium because often that means personal change and growth.

We are all made up of different parts and it is only when all of these parts are in balance that we can achieve our true potential. It is important that our physical, mental, social and spiritual sides are all maintained otherwise no balance can be achieved.

I feel that all of this reflection actually reinforces the idea that we all need to go out and live life to its fullest. We need to be engaged in the pursuit of exceptional lives, exceptional and balanced in every respect. We need to go and suck the marrow out of life, so to speak and to make sure that we have no regrets. After all, as a good friend of mine once said, “life is too short to be somewhere where you don’t want to be”.