Been couch-jumping lately?

Even if you are not a sport lover, or a Brit ;) I would be surprised if you haven’t been at least just a bit inspired by the last fortnight. 

Most of the Olympians who I know, can recount the time they watched their hero win, jumping up and down on the couch* in excitement, and vowing then and there to also become an Olympic champion.  

The slogan of the London Olympics is “inspire a generation”.  There is hope that there will be a new set of couch-jumpers and people committed to following their dreams, athletic or otherwise. I guess it will also be enough if the Games encourages the couch-sitters to commit to a healthier more active lifestyle**.

The campaign has focused on young people but the slogan’s ambiguity is empowering, because there is..

• Inspiration for teenagers: 15 year old Katie Ledecky and 16 year old Ye Shiwen show that the teenage quality of not getting fazed by anyone, regardless of the strength and reputation of one's competitor, can be worth its weight in gold.  

• Inspiration for Generation Y: Verging on superhuman status both Michael Phelps who has accumulated about as many medals as he has years, and Usain Bolt, epitomise their generation's confidence, ambitiousness and achievement-orientation.

• Inspiration for the middle-agers:  Freshly medalled and books just released, both 40 year old Greg Searle and 56 year old Mark Todd returned after retirement to see if they could reclaim gold, and are proof that there is an alternative to middle age spread, delusion and forgotten dreams.

• Inspiration for the 'third agers': 71 year old Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu reminds us of the value of looking after ourselves, and keeping our appetite for learning, growing and excellence.

Whatever your dreams, as I wrote on the key ingredients of making them happen, inspiring role models do play an important part... and ultimately it is your journey, nobody else's.  In my opinion, long term sustainable inspiration can only come from within ourselves.

 

Notes:

* or if you prefer: sofa/divan/settee/chesterfield/divano..

 

** on that, check out Alison Mowbray Lifestyle on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alison.mowbraylifestyle for top tips, research and recipes on sustaining a healthy lifestyle.

 

Image sourced from: ww.parkourgenerations.com/news/parkour-and-london-2012-inspire-programme-exhibition-city-hall-9-may-17-may-2012%E2%80%8F