I could start this piece by defining what motivation means to me, not just at the pool, in sport, or at work, but in life.  Instead I figured I would describe two people in my life and you could figure it out for yourself.  These people are not family members, they probably don’t consider me a good friend and you won’t find them on my call log.  But these people have recently shaped and directed my life, they have become my motivation.  

Frank & Marin  

Friday, April 25^th Chase Barron “Sunshine” Anderson was killed while riding his skateboard in the University district of Seattle.  I know Chase’s dad Frank from masters swimming.  Frank, a former water polo player and still talented swimmer, is my “drafting buddy”.  After my five-week “knee surgery vacation” from the water it was hard not to notice the gasping, sinking, water works show behind him as I struggled through practice a few weeks ago.  Half way through the main set Frank threw a smile over his shoulder and said “Throw on those paddles and fins, just don’t scratch my feet.”  I flew through that last 200, Frank leading the charge.  That was the last time I saw Frank, until I saw him on the evening news speaking about the death of his son Chase “Sunshine”.  The Seattle times said Chase rode his skateboard in shorts and flip-flops despite the Seattle weather, always exuding a contagious kind of happiness, which is how he got his nickname.  Frank smiles, still smiles.  He says “day by day” as he fights through an unfathomable pain.  He talks about Chase and how he was blessed with the time he had with his son.  Somehow Frank is making the choice to find happiness.  To spread the sunshine his son did so effortlessly. 

I see Marin Morrison on the pool deck.  Sometimes daily, but lately not at all.  At 14 years old Marin was less than 2 seconds away from qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the 100yd backstroke.  Now at the age of 16 she is a member of the Paralympics swim team bound for Beijing.  Doctors found a tumor growing in Marin’s brain, the second brain surgery saved her life but left the left side of her body paralyzed and with what the doctors call “aphasia", an inability to express clearly the ideas in her head.  Marin swims every day she is able, every stroke with only the left side of her body, and she smiles.  She is fighting what people have told her is an impossible fight, she swims when doctors told her she would not live to see her 16th birthday .  Today Marin is at the Seattle Children’s hospital.  She’s been there for weeks and will be there for quite a while longer.  She aches to get back in the water, she smiles on the pool deck, and she smiles when you crack a joke in the Giraffe recovery ward.   
 

Slipping subtly into my life with no appropriate timing, Frank and Marin have become my motivation.  They make the simple choice each day to take what they have and find joy, but make no mistake; they put up a hell of a fight to do so. 
  

There are things we all dream of, changes we envision in our lives, ideas and possibilities others convince us of.  But happiness is not for the past, it is not something dependant on the future, another person, an activity or possession it is a personal choice for the present.  I offer simply to pause for a moment and look around you, look at the people on the pool deck.  Don’t swim to attain a pace you could hold 5 years ago, don’t run with the discouraging thought of how fast you should be in six months, but give 100% towards what you’ve got today, and choose to find happiness there.  Be convinced that each day you fight with what you have, you get closer to attaining your “Big Picture”, your dream, your goal.  Remember, happiness is not something you will discover at the end; happiness is something your fight for each and every day along the way.   

So when you find yourself dreading that cold dive into the pool, as many of you agreed you do, when the hot tub or nacho plate calls your name, when you don’t feel even a tickle of a smile warming your face, pause a moment and look around.  Your motivation may be right next to you, fighting an impossible uphill battle.  You might find your Frank or your Marin, and you just might see a fight from the pool deck.   


Lara Brown a native of Portland, Oregon currently resides in Redmond, Washington .  After attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs she served 5 years in the Air Force.  She is presently competing as a professional triathlete, and works as a freelance writer and marketing consultant.  Feel free to email lara@larabrown.net