Who You Became

There's this phrase I heard during an interview with Osher Günsberg that has stuck with me. The second I heard it, it buried itself in my heart and won't let go.

When I talk about it, I paraphrase it, because the origin of the quote is from an athlete talking about winning the gold. But he didn't understand how powerful what he said was.

It shouldn't, it mustn't, just apply to podium level elites. It applies to anyone out there pushing beyond what they thought was possible for themselves.

I see it time & again in ultra runners crossing the finish line of a distance they would have told friends was absolutely barmy a few years back. I see it in the tears of those who can't believe what they've just accomplished. I see it in that joyous sprint at the end, the cheeky stretching grin for medal selfies, the quiet pride when colleagues hear about it on Monday.

It was this phrase:

The medal isn't the prize.

Who you became to hold the medal is the prize.