Friday, August 20, 2010

Flight of the Bumblebee & Yoda's Wisdom

I came across this little story about the bumblebee in The Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel and it really made sense to me on so many levels~it is also one philosophy I try to implement into all aspects of my life, not just fitness or sport. I truly believe that your mind and your perception play a big role in how things will play out.

Several years ago, as the story goes, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Admin) developed an interest in the bumblebee. The lab folks reckoned that the little insect held some secrets of flight that might provide answers to questions about operating in space. After all, they asked, how could such small wings produce efficient lift for a relatively large and hairy torso? And how could a round body, and a flight position that violated so many principles of aerodynamics, move so effectively through the air? Indeed, there was MUCH to learn from the little hummer.
So the scientists set about studying the bumblebee to discover it flying secrets. As scientists always do, they hypothesized about, scrutinized, examined, dissected, measured, timed, filmed, observed, compared, quantified, thought about and debated the bumblebee. After weeks of study they came to but one conclusion: Bumblebees are not capable of flight!
Fortunately, no one told the bumblebee. The silly insect goes right on believing that flight is normal for them despite what the best minds in the scientific world know as fact.
The bumblebee thinks it can fly. Actually, the thought of anything else never even crossed it's tiny mind. They just keep on flying.
We can all learn from the bumblebee. The single most critical piece of the multi-sport puzzle is believing in yourself and your capacity to succeed.


I think Yoda said it best:

[Luke] "I can't believe it!"

[Yoda] "That is why you fail."
So the next time you are faced with a challenge, think of the bumblebee. Or Yoda. Or both. Just remember that you are capable of SO MUCH MORE than you believe yourself to be.
~May the force be with you! (he he he-had to say it)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was so great to read -- Yes, we are capable of so much more than we think.

My favorite yoda quote is "Do or do not, there is no try". When we "try" something we allow failure as a result. Just DO it! :)

Melissa Cunningham said...

oh! just what i needed to hear today!!!
thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

@couchpotatoathlete: yes, that Yoda quote is another of my favorites but I did not want to overdo it on the YODA :)

Face the Fear and DO IT ANYWAY!!