Gold doesn’t last for ever
A volunteer at a daytime shelter for homeless women notices a slightly introverted client who is pleasant to everybody and conscientious about helping to clean up when most others have already left for the evening. The volunteer begins to chat and initially the conversation revolves around general pleasantries. The volunteer has a curiosity about this client. She speaks clearly and intelligently. She looks fit and trim and is generally well presented. Whilst there is no one size fits all for those who find themselves homeless and clients of the shelter, this woman still stands out from the crowd.
Moving on from talk about the weather, a few gentle probing questions lead to an unexpected revelation.
This homeless lady from Seattle, who sleeps in shelters or under bin bags on side streets was once a multiple Olympic Cycling Champion and was also a World Championship Gold medalist. Rebecca Twigg graced the covers of cycling magazines and was at one time the number one cyclist in America.
She is not your average homeless person, or is she?
Luck, chance and circumstance may be all that separate Rebecca Twigg from any of us. Her downfall might have been tasting success and enjoying a fulfilling lifestyle at a young age that set her up for a life of disappointment once her golden dream days were over.
As an Olympic cyclist she awoke every morning facing a day doing what she was born for, and loved to do. When the day came that she could no longer be a full time cyclist and had to get a job like normal people she was not able to cope with the daily grind of having to do something that did not fulfil her in the same way. Something that could be seen as being boring and mundane. Something that for many is normal life.
Perhaps instead of focusing on the good aspects of her post cycling job as a computer programmer or the great possibilities and experiences that could be enjoyed during her leisure time in evenings and at weekends she became consumed with the downside and was frustrated. Her glass was most likely always half empty.
She had experienced what it was like to be ‘somebody’ and was unable to adapt to being ‘nobody’.
There’s a lesson here for us all. Being ‘somebody’ might entail driving a certain type of car or wearing a certain type of clothing. It might mean riding a certain type of bike or living in a certain type of house. A key question here is how much of this is to make you happy and how much is to impress others so that they will think that you are ‘somebody’
If we could be happy with being ‘nobody’ it may unleash a certain amount of freedom and release the brakes that hold us back. Without the need to impress anyone else we might just find ourselves happier with our job, car, wardrobe, bike and whatever else. We might have more time for family and friends and for the things that really matter to us. We might take more chances to follow our own dreams without fear of failure or being laughed at. We might be more comfortable in our own skin and that in itself is being successful.
As an American Olympic Gold Medalist, Rebecca Twigg was the ultimate ‘Somebody’. Perhaps if she was given the awareness, knowledge and skills to be happy with being ‘nobody’ after her career ended, her life afterwards may have turned out very different. Successful athletes could well take note.
Barry
You can read more about Rebecca Twigg here :
2 COMMENTS
Ross Carson
Hi, I’m an old cycling friend of Rebecca Twigg.
(Dec.’83, Junior Men’s Winter Training Camp, Olympic Training Center, Col. Springs, CO)
Please let her know,
I hope she’s doing well, I think about her a lot, and I care about her!
–SHE’S SUCH AN AMAZING PERSON ..
O B V I O U S L Y !!! 😀
Thanks!
Ross Carson
Ross Carson
p.s. It would be awesome to hear from her sometime ANYTIME .. no presh ,-)
Ross