Please give a brief description of your most recent competition. Describe the event in terms of your feelings before during and after.

My answer, admittedly longer than it was worth writing in the small comment box, was:

Before the race, as we are preparing, I bring myself to a calm focus amid the sea of frantic teammates and competitors. Their anxiety deepens my calm.

During the race, I focus on my technique, level of exertion, and hydration. People always talk about how much it hurts when you exert yourself to the limits of your physical abilities, but I don’t find that to be the case. I think it’s because during the race, I’m projecting to the future, knowing that lunch is just around the corner once I finish.

Near the end, I focus more on my technique. Every movement is deliberate yet automatic, like that of a finely tuned machine. People’s cheering releases the rest of my energy, bringing me across the finish line.

Throughout the post-race activities and the ride home, I look forward to finding another next set of good race results that shows my improvement in the last year.

Obviously, I don’t feel much emotionally before, during, or after the race. Whatever I do feel is optimistic.

This prompts a few questions.

To athletes: During a competition, what is the one thing that affects your emotional state the most, either positively or negatively?

To everyone: Is being unemotional such a bad thing? Is this why emotionally intelligent people tend to get flustered before a race?

1. PURGE- Eliminate unnecessary paper documents
2. DIGITALIZE- Scan all the essential papers, like health records, bank statements (you should set up online banking if not already!), and tax forms. (Fujitsu Portable Scanner)
3. SAVE- Store digitalized documents on a small flash drive. Or, store them in an online database (evernote.com)

Even if you decide not to go paperless, Evernote is a great tool to check out. It’s like an online extension of your brain that helps save useful webpages and photos you like.  It will even search text within images when it comes to digging up what you’ve saved. Items are organized by a “notebooks” system, allowing you to save things under different categories, much like having a folders system for emails.

Now, how are you going to survive without paper?

Life after the Purge: Sell your soul to the Internet Cloud

• Store your computer files online with Mozy.com or Dropbox.com. Both will automatically sync your computer files to the online storage system at timed intervals.
• Compose, save, and share documents and spreadsheets online with Google Docs or Zoho.com.
• Receive and send faxes by email for free with k7.net and faxaway.com, respectively.

I was more scared the morning I posted flyers about my grand opening than I was standing at the start line of the Ironman triathlon at age 18, surrounded by veteran athletes in their 40′s (considered by some to be the prime age for endurance events). Arguably, it was even harder than biking across the U.S.

I guess I am the most vulnerable when I put myself “out there,” for all to see and evaluate. Maybe it’s just me, or maybe it could be an introvert thing. Because the way I see it, from the extrovert’s perspective, one might feel more vulnerable achieving something for themselves without social support from their friends and family.

In any case, whether it’s more challenging to put yourself “out there”, or to go at it alone toward a personal accomplishment, working in your vulnerable area will make you grow.

Where and when do you feel most vulnerable?

What is the hardest thing for you to do? What if you did it….this year, this month, today, NOW?

EDIT [8 months later]: After revisiting my initial speculations about why some things feel more “scary” than others, despite the