Boris Fernandez

Sometimes I’m a Doubting Thomas. It has taken me a great deal of time and many interesting experiences to finally accept the fact that “I’ll see it when I believe it” has more power than “when I see it, then I’ll believe it”. We have a quote in our kitchen attributed to Goethe that says, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and wonderful plans. The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have happened. A whole stream of events issues from your decision raising in your favor all manner of unforeseen incidences and meetings and material assistance which no man would have dreamed would come his way.” The other day we rented a movie called “Emmanuel’s Gift”. It was a documentary based on the life of a man labeled at birth an outcast due to a deformity in his leg. In his country, Ghana, he would normally be relegated to begging on the street for the rest of his life. However, with the help of a determined mother and the conviction he held that this was not true for him and against all odds he was able to start to change the reality of his country’s thinking and policies regarding the handicapped. And how did he do this? He rode a bike. Not the same way you or I would but with one leg and tons of determination to follow his dream. What seems like such a simple thing for you or me, asking for a bike, in his country was like asking for someone to give you one the mansions on Mashta Island. He wrote to an organization in America to get help and the only thing he asked for was a bike, nothing fancy, just a bike, no money, no pity, just a mountain bike. So in this case, a $100 mountain bike and an intention followed with sheer determination and a burning desire to realize a dream resulted in “all sorts of things occurring to help him that would otherwise not have happened”. What is a common theme you hear from Olympians, no matter what the sport, when they are interviewed? Most of them say that they always saw themselves as being in the Olympics or dreamed of it from when they were small. The seed was already planted and the years of dedication and hard work that followed to get them there was all worth it to them. What dream or intention do you have for your sport? It doesn’t matter if it is to just finish a marathon or place top three in your age group, or maybe just lose those extra pounds that have piled up keeping you from feeling good about yourself and enjoying participating in more activities. The principal is the same. It all starts with an intention, a dedicated thought that you could go beyond the ordinary and accomplish something out of reach of your current comfort zone. I write this column to help hold that space of possibility open to you as others have held the space and possibilities open for me when I never dreamed things could be possible. For example, I was never a runner. When I did run I looked like a black bear ambling through the forest, but others were able to see what I was not able to see. They saw my potential, something invisible to me at the time. Little by little I was able to grasp that my dreams could become real and I stepped into that space grateful for them having held it for me when I could not. I hold open a door for you here hoping to help you see the potential that resides in you and to help you step up and say “yes” to your dream. In the words of William Shakespeare,“ Assume a virtue if you have it not”, in other words “act as if” you have it and then the door of possibility will start to open.