CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
A few weeks ago, I spent much of my free time engrossed in the coverage of the 2008 Olympics. During these games, there were many amazing displays of athletic ability: Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, Usain Bolt's 'lightning' speed in the 100 meter and 200 meter run and Constantina Dita of Romania winning the women's marathon at the age of 38.
For me, the most interesting story involved a runner in one of the strangest events in the Olympics, the 3,000 meter Steeplechase. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it involves running 3,000 meters on the track. While covering that distance, the runners must jump 35 hurdles ... but these aren't regular hurdles that tip if you bump them -- they look like something used to create a road block. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that behind seven of the hurdles is a pit of water the runners have to land in.
While watching the preliminary heats of the Steeplechase, I witnessed Anthony Famiglietti of the U.S. track team set a personal best by completing his heat in 8:17.34. This time was almost three full seconds faster than he ran when qualifying for the Olympics in June. What an amazing feat to perform your personal best on such a grand stage.
Seeing his performance caused me to reflect on the concept of 'personal best.' If you think about it, performing a 'personal best' equates to our own core value of excellence in all we do.
I know there are times at work when we feel like a new road block has been built for us to jump over to get our mission done -- and sometimes there is a water pit behind the road block to trudge through after clearing the hurdle. At the end of each day, we know if we have given the Air Force our 'personal best.' If we internalize and exhibit the values of integrity and excellence, no one can ever question effort and performance.
Now back to Mr. Famiglietti, how did he fair in the Steeplechase final? He finished thirteenth and all the medals were awarded for times well below his personal best. While the final result may be different than he hoped, he will always know he did his absolute best when it counted most. There are times our 'personal best' may not result in public recognition, but that does not diminish the value of our effort.
In our line of work, the prize is much greater than any Olympic medal, it is protecting our great nation and delivering hope and freedom. I leave you with this final thought -- make every day an opportunity to deliver your 'personal best'.