The pursuit of greatness

Bradley Wiggins wins the Tour de France, the first British man to do so.

Achievements of this kind recalibrate the greatness scale for us all.  We have witnessed absolute single-minded determination in pursuit of a goal.  Wiggins own words, "Last year after I crashed I watched Cadel win the Tour and I saw how happy he looked and I wanted to feel what he was feeling. I'd broken my collarbone but that night I got on my turbo. I was inspired by him and if I can inspire someone else, that's incredible."

The value of having a truly inspirational role model, who is himself inspired by inspiring you, cannot be understated. We are lacking enough of these people in these days where people are in the limelight for 'what', not 'how' they are doing. Many sports would struggle to name a single modern-day equivalent. 

But the single-minded pursuit of greatness, is this something to emulate?  We should remember that Bradley Wiggins is a man at the very top of his game. A man focused on one goal, supported by not just the most inspirational sporting team that I have witnessed since Clive Woodward's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning team, but  a loving family orbiting around his goal. In Wiggins own words: "There's my family and my kids who've had to put up with me for the last four years. They've had to live with my burden, which is trying to win the Tour."

What can us humble mortals take from this - that majority of us who are not free to focus on just one life component, don't have omni-present support crew, and are not able or willing to optimise our own Life Scorecard independently of the considerations of others?

I'm going to take comfort from another of Bradley Wiggins comments on the matter, "This is certainly my greatest sporting achievement...this is only sport, it's not life and death...I've got a lot more things in my life which are more important than this."

Your daily exercise: What's the definition of greatness for you in your life? Write it down on that same sheet of paper. Bradley had the goal of winning the Tour de France from 11 years old, what has your goal always been? What is it now? Rank the various activities that make up your life, your life components, in order of importance for you.