This is a “Letter to My Younger Self” by Jared Ward, an Olympic marathon runner who will participate in this year’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. Two other such letters are scheduled to appear in the AJC and on AJC.com and myAJC.com in the weeks leading to the Peachtree Road Race on the Fourth of July.
Dear Jared,
A balding 30-year old with a moustache just passed you this letter. Wondering who that was? Brace yourself; that man is you. The older version. I’m actually only 27, but at 27 you’ll have two kids with one more on the way. But breathe easy. Life is good. You’ve got a hot wife, you love your job, and kids really aren’t that bad — in fact, they’ll offer you some of life’s greatest moments.
If you haven’t already stopped reading, let me prove I really am you. You are deeply inwardly motivated. You find joy in the small accomplishments in life. Logging 70-hour summer work weeks for dad’s ice business, running Vita Course faster than you ever have before, or learning a new juggling trick with the soccer ball, to name a few. This is a great quality. Your ability to find daily success though incremental accomplishments will propel you in your career and enrich your family life.
If you can take a little advice, care a bit less about pleasing everyone around you. You have good people helping you: parents, siblings, other family, friends, coaches, teachers and religious leaders. Yet when you learn to trust promptings coming straight to you and do things because you want to accomplish them, your running career will take off.
Oh, did I mention you are a professional runner? You won’t get that missionary call to Brazil like you wanted, but you are headed there for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Surprise.
Balance in life is going to be a huge factor in continued success. Focus on your studies in school; you’ll need every bit as a college professor. Stick around that cutie on the track team, you just might marry her, and if you do she will bring you more happiness than I would imagine you could find anywhere else.
Cultivate your relationship with God. He will become a source of power and confidence to you. And be nice to people. You can have a bigger impact on people around you than you think.
The best feelings in life won’t be the races you win, they will be the moments when you have tried your best, helped those around you, and lived in the moment. Keep smiling, man.
See you in 15 years.
Jared
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