Loss and Racing

Life lessons from motorsport surpass all other sports for me. 

I grew up on tennis and football. I fell in love with soccer later. But every damn time I’m in a hot shower thinking about my life (a good one), and Life (the big one), and LIFE (the cereal), I find some little connection to motorsport. I’ll spare you the LIFE talk - we have plenty to cover with life and Life.

A race is like a life. 

The beginning is nervy and you’re relying on everyone around you doing lots of things right.

The middle is the longest (most boring?) part but it also rewards courage, opportunism, and temperance in equal measure but you don’t get any guidance on which goes where.

The end always comes just a little sooner than you’d like; and after a few of your fellow racers have disappeared into the distance.

They say fixating on the end comes at the cost of savoring the middle. In Formula 1 terms, focus only on P1 and miss the drama for P5. Focus on the champion and miss the other 19 drivers giving everything to fulfill some small part of a long-held dream.

I don’t do well with loss. Even the thought of it. I know one day a call to my mom will go unanswered. One day, I’ll only remember conversations with my dad. One day, I’d move heaven and earth for 15 more minutes with my best friend and another evening in with my partner.

Last week, I was thinking about how sad I’ll be when the losses come my way. Funnily enough, a Daniel Ricciardo quote sprang to mind. I don’t remember the exact line but it’s something like:

“Being hunted is a powerful feeling because you have something they want.”

Bit strange to spring to mind, right? Let me explain.

I will know unbearable loss in my life. It will devastate me. But this is actually a hopeful message. 

To lose something, first you must have it.

To lose much, you must have much.

I will lose so much because I have so much. Why spend any time fixating on the end when there’s such joy in the middle?