Cyclocross Race Report

The following is a fresh perspecrtive from an almost 10 year old rookie cross racer after his first race.

Dad: Simon after hearing me talk about cyclocross racing was the race what you expected?

Simon: Yes.

Dad: What was the hardest part?

Simon: I think carring your bike up the stairs, pushing your bike up the sandy hill, and going down the sharp turn on the gravel.

Dad: What did you like most about the race?

Simon: Finishing it.

Dad: Is there anything else you want to say about the race?

Simon: I think that it was really fun but hard at the same time.

Dad: Will you race again?

Simon: Yes.

• Heard leaving the course:

Dad: How was it?

Simon: I thought I was going to be the first kid in America to have a heart attack.

No Complaints

I'm putting myself out there. You know, I thought I was a pretty positive person. I have friends, I get along with my co-workers and I have a great family life. But until I took the complaint free challenge, I didn't realize how many times a day I complain.

“Complaining is not to be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be put right. And to refrain from complaining doesn’t necessarily mean putting up with bad quality or behavior. There is no ego in telling the waiter your soup is cold and needs to be heated up—if you stick to the facts, which are always neutral. ‘How dare you serve me cold soup…?’ That’s
complaining.”—Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”

The challenge is simple. Go to acomplaintfreeworld.org get a purple bracelet and put it on. Each time during the day when you complain, criticise, or gossip move the bracelet. When you have gone 21 days without complaining, you have changed your thought patterns and ceased complaining.

Why take the challenge? There are two things upon which most people will agree:

1. There is too much complaining in the world.
2. The state of the world is not the way we would like it.

Instead of focusing on what is wrong in the world, focus on how you want the world to be.