How would you live if you only had five months left

Last night on the news there was an interview with a man who had heart transplant.

He said, ”every minute of every day, he enjoys what he has, he lives in total appreciation of what he has”.

Why didn’t he live like that before?

Every day we wake up, we have so much. If it’s fine, we can enjoy the sunshine. If it’s rainy, we can enjoy the rain. The journey to work can be enjoyable. Look at the faces of all the people who you see along the way. Every face tells a story. Let your imagination unravel that story. Listen to the sounds. Some of the simplist things can be the most beautiful sounds. The sounds of birds singing. Of kids playing, the sound of rain on the roof.

Yesterday when we trained in the Lake at the Gold Coast. The water was clean, the temperature was mild, the morning was beautiful. What a great place to train.

Then when we cycled over to the hinterland mountains for a climbing workout. Three or four climbs up Springbrook mountain. Through the rainforest, water falls running down through the forest and under the road. What a fantastic place to cycle.

Half way up one of the climb efforts, four red Ferraris drove past. What a sound. There is something pure and original with the sound of a Ferrari, an MGB, a Ducatti or a Harley. After the fastest guys had done their four climbs we all regrouped and rode back to Robina. We had a roaring head wind. But it was still fantastic, tired legs pushing into a 30kph wind, it wasn’t far. It was just like riding into Hawi on the Big Island.

Far too often, people are missing some of the best experiences, because they’re not living in the moment. They’re thinking of, what can go wrong, what someone else will think, what someone else is doing at the time.

If you were told that you have five months to live. Would you live differently? In most cases the answer is Yes. Why is that so?

If you’d live differently if you only had five months to go. Why don’t you live like that now? Do you fear running out of money? Do you fear looking like a fool?

If you’re not living your life to the fullest, right now, you do look like a fool. You’re not going to get another chance. You have to take every opportunity to enjoy what you have right now.

If it’s a fear of running out of money, you have nothing to worry about. Living in the moment doesn’t cost any more than living in fear. Just learn to enjoy everything which fills your life. Like the “heart transplant man” said, every minute of every day.

When you race, in the swim, just swim. No other thoughts. On the bike, just ride it hard and smile as though you’re enjoying it. We do this sport because we love it. It’s supposed to be fun. It is possible to enjoy cycling into a headwind, riding in the rain or the searing heat.

How often do we see people out there running with a look on their faces like they’ve lost a million bucks. If you’ve done the training, if you’re focussing on running the 400m in front of you, no matter how tired you are, it can be fun. I don’t mean fun like blowing out the candles on your birthday cake. I mean satisfying type fun, like when you’ve predicted something that has actually happened.

That’s how it can be on race day. You can predict how it’s going to be, fast, strong, focussed on the moment. That’s how it’ll be, then it’ll be fun.