The Inner Athlete in the Arena of Daily Life

The announcer’s voice quivers with excitement as the video begins to play: « Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see a feat performed for the first time by David Seale – a feat requiring total concentration, daring, and coordination. What you are about to observe did not happen overnight but was the result of months of preparation. Here he goes! »

A figure appears on the screen. David looks relaxed and confident, about to begin a complex series of movements and balances. He stands momentarily poised on the brink, hesitates a moment; then, with eyes focused ahead, not looking down, his mind focuses completely on the task at hand, he begins to move. His body remains relaxed as he engages the first move.

Suddenly, with a tremor, he starts to fall!! Quickly, David catches himself, and without wasting a moment on anger or fear he stands again and continues toward his goal, his face serene yet concentrated.

As he nears the goal David has another near miss but again regains his balance. He reaches out, his face beaming. After a final moment of suspense, those watching let out their breath and applaud with delight as ten-month-old David Seale, inner athlete, reaches out and grasps his mother’s outstretched arms. Recorded by his father’s camcorder, David has walked his first step across the living room rug.

All of us were inner athlete in our infancy – our minds free of concern or anxiety, focused on the present moment; our bodies were relaxed, sensitive, elastic, and aligned with gravity; our emotions were free-flowing expression, uninhibited, spontaneous.

We begin life with nearly unlimited potential. Most of us, however, lose touch with our childhood aptitudes as we become burdened by limiting beliefs, begin to deny our emotions, and experience a variety of physical tensions…

(Source: Prologue of the Book « The inner athlete – Realizing your fullest potential », by Dan Millman, author of « Way of the peaceful warrior »)