I'd never heard the name Amy Palmiero-Winters until a co-worker of mine sent me a video about her. Although you've probably never heard of her either, she's someone we can all learn a lot from. Amy had always been a runner, but lost one of her legs in an accident. Instead of the accident putting an end to her running career, she didn't let it stop her from continuing to do something that she loved, and from inspiring others to do the same. In recent years, she ran the Chicago marathon in a time of 3:04 (3 hours, 4 minutes), which is thought to be the fastest time ever by an amputee. For those of you not familiar with marathons, 3:04 is REALLY fast- for a man or a woman. My goal was to run the Columbus marathon last year in under 4:30, and I ran it in 4:27. It's one of my biggest personal accomplishments to-date. Last year Amy received the Runner's World Hero Award for her accomplishments. In her acceptance speech, she said that "nothing good is ever easy and is never done alone." She also said that we're only limited by ourselves and that anything is possible. I think these lessons can be applied to so many areas of our lives. Whether it's weight loss, learning a new skill, or adapting new habits into your life, it's not easy. If life changes were easy, everyone would be thin and healthy. But I think that by believing in yourself, and having a good support system (like the ones you can find on SparkPeople), you can achieve anything. What do you think? Who or what inspires you to reach your goals? |
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