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Tuesday, 12 Feb 08
I have begun reading a fascinating book, "This I Believe." It is a continuation of the 1950s radio broadcast and later publication of the same name. It is a very simple concept: an invitation to anyone, no matter your social rank or state of importance, to write a few paragraphs "expressing the core principle that guides your life — your personal credo." The book includes the opinions of a famous politician and world-renowned composer, as well as an elderly caregiver and Yellow Pages salesperson. I appreciate the diversity of the book because it gives the perspectives from so many different walks of life.
Let's not get too ambitions; I don't think that I am prepared to write my essay at this juncture. Even if total clarity isn't in the cards, I think that it is a wise practice to now and again evaluate your beliefs. Just as a tree cannot stand without roots, a person cannot be grounded unless they have some inkling of where they stand in this crazy world. For me to come any closer to writing my own “This I Believe” declaration I must start by asking even more questions: What do I really admire? Who do I look up to? I am a skier, and, of course, I want to win. Competition is not only an integral part of sport, it is a mainstay of life.
The questions I posed have different answers than I would have guessed, especially since I am an athlete and competition is my livelihood. I admire humility; I respect a graceful loser to a far greater extent than a decorated winner. I am not minimizing the success of any athlete, myself included, or anyone who works hard and excels at what they do. After a job well done we deserve to be proud and satisfied. A truly impressive person is a magnanimous winner. But, consequently, the people that I look up to have the attributes I admire, if not the accolades. I strive to convey those beliefs through my own actions. It is a good reality check to remind myself that every occurrence, even the unfavorable, is an opportunity to project positivity.
When it comes to deciphering what you believe, one must also decide who they are. There are so many adjectives to throw out when it comes to identity these days. Unfortunately, it seems that as individuals we get very caught up in labels. When anyone first meets someone, they take an instant inventory of their clothes, race, body, current disposition and then classify them thoughtlessly. I do it. You do it. We make such judgments daily after nothing more than a glance.
To most of my friends growing up, I was "the skier." That is just a description of what I do, albeit a good one, not who I am. We are all guilty of snap judgments, and I think that this flaw is so ingrained in our psyche that it would be futile to try changing it. However, having said that, because we are humans we have the amazing ability to question and to reason. I cannot know one person’s hopes and fears just by looking at them; I have to ask them. If someone were to ask me who I am, naturally, I would reply, "Kaylin." If someone asked me what "Kaylin" means, I would not answer "skier." My name and what I do are not synonymous; I am far more complex than that. Just as you are more dimensional than a single phrase or epithet.
After all that writing I don't feel any closer to the elusive, solitary answer of what I believe, but the exercise in enlightenment did reveal that I believe in many things, which is not a bad problem to have. I believe our world is a world of choices. I believe that the more opportunities you make, the more choices you have. I believe a Fortune 500 CEO, a farmer and a homeless person have more in common that we ever could imagine. I believe in God. I believe in encouragement. I believe in my teammates. I believe in hard work. I believe in compliments. I believe that a greater problem than the scarcity of oil is the scarcity of empathy and compassion. I believe in love. I believe in the power of hugs. I believe in admitting I was wrong. I believe that change for the good is possible. I believe in laughter. I believe in the pursuit of personal discovery ... to name a few. What do you believe in?
For now,
Kaylin
If you are interested in giving back, please take a look at helping me in a cause close to my heart at www.kaylinscalling.com
What do you believe in?
Comment on this Post Jumper Kaylin Richardson usually has some insightful knowledge to share with readers, so we figured we share this particular blog with you. It was originally published on SkiRacing.com. Kaylin is on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team. (Photo by Jumper Lauren Ross)
I have begun reading a fascinating book, "This I Believe." It is a continuation of the 1950s radio broadcast and later publication of the same name. It is a very simple concept: an invitation to anyone, no matter your social rank or state of importance, to write a few paragraphs "expressing the core principle that guides your life — your personal credo." The book includes the opinions of a famous politician and world-renowned composer, as well as an elderly caregiver and Yellow Pages salesperson. I appreciate the diversity of the book because it gives the perspectives from so many different walks of life.
Let's not get too ambitions; I don't think that I am prepared to write my essay at this juncture. Even if total clarity isn't in the cards, I think that it is a wise practice to now and again evaluate your beliefs. Just as a tree cannot stand without roots, a person cannot be grounded unless they have some inkling of where they stand in this crazy world. For me to come any closer to writing my own “This I Believe” declaration I must start by asking even more questions: What do I really admire? Who do I look up to? I am a skier, and, of course, I want to win. Competition is not only an integral part of sport, it is a mainstay of life.
The questions I posed have different answers than I would have guessed, especially since I am an athlete and competition is my livelihood. I admire humility; I respect a graceful loser to a far greater extent than a decorated winner. I am not minimizing the success of any athlete, myself included, or anyone who works hard and excels at what they do. After a job well done we deserve to be proud and satisfied. A truly impressive person is a magnanimous winner. But, consequently, the people that I look up to have the attributes I admire, if not the accolades. I strive to convey those beliefs through my own actions. It is a good reality check to remind myself that every occurrence, even the unfavorable, is an opportunity to project positivity.
When it comes to deciphering what you believe, one must also decide who they are. There are so many adjectives to throw out when it comes to identity these days. Unfortunately, it seems that as individuals we get very caught up in labels. When anyone first meets someone, they take an instant inventory of their clothes, race, body, current disposition and then classify them thoughtlessly. I do it. You do it. We make such judgments daily after nothing more than a glance.
To most of my friends growing up, I was "the skier." That is just a description of what I do, albeit a good one, not who I am. We are all guilty of snap judgments, and I think that this flaw is so ingrained in our psyche that it would be futile to try changing it. However, having said that, because we are humans we have the amazing ability to question and to reason. I cannot know one person’s hopes and fears just by looking at them; I have to ask them. If someone were to ask me who I am, naturally, I would reply, "Kaylin." If someone asked me what "Kaylin" means, I would not answer "skier." My name and what I do are not synonymous; I am far more complex than that. Just as you are more dimensional than a single phrase or epithet.
After all that writing I don't feel any closer to the elusive, solitary answer of what I believe, but the exercise in enlightenment did reveal that I believe in many things, which is not a bad problem to have. I believe our world is a world of choices. I believe that the more opportunities you make, the more choices you have. I believe a Fortune 500 CEO, a farmer and a homeless person have more in common that we ever could imagine. I believe in God. I believe in encouragement. I believe in my teammates. I believe in hard work. I believe in compliments. I believe that a greater problem than the scarcity of oil is the scarcity of empathy and compassion. I believe in love. I believe in the power of hugs. I believe in admitting I was wrong. I believe that change for the good is possible. I believe in laughter. I believe in the pursuit of personal discovery ... to name a few. What do you believe in?
For now,
Kaylin
If you are interested in giving back, please take a look at helping me in a cause close to my heart at www.kaylinscalling.com
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