Inspire people by captivating them

Capitavate: To attract and hold the attention of someone by being interesting, pretty, etc.

Do you ever feel boring? Like who in the world would take an interest in little ole me? Or how about when you have to attend a social event where you don’t know anyone — what the heck will you talk about that will captivate anyone?

The standard ice breaker, of course, is “so what do you do”? It seems that everyone these days defines themselves by the job they hold. I think I’ve mentioned before that Mr. Judy used to love to captivate people by telling them I was a stripper. Completely true, too. Except that used to be a job in printing, because God knows my dance skills are less than captivating.

For a long time I didn’t have anything to say when someone asked me what I did, as I stopped working a decade ago. At an outside job, anyway, I definitely I work pretty hard somedays!

Then I started to run. While I can’t say that really made it any easier to captivate people, it was at the least mildly interesting, especially when I would say I’d never run a mile before my late forties, and it seems that everyone you talk to is either a runner or a person who loves to say they could never run.

Once I decided to try to run a half marathon in every state? Ah yes, now I have something that can captivate an audience. To me it doesn’t really seem that captivating, since so many runners are trying to do it.

And yet it captivates many people, runners and non-runners alike.

In fact, I don’t think anyone has ever said to me: Why in the world would you want to do that? Unlike running itself, where everyone loves to tell you why it will ruin you, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything less than a positive response (and some awe) when I tell people that’s what I’m trying to do.

I hope, with my facebook page and this blog, that I can captivate people with my journey, and inspire them to get healthy and dream big. As I always like to say, if I can do it, anyone can. I believe that.

I’m not a gifted runner or athlete, I’m just an ordinary middle aged woman who decided to try something new. And stick with it.

One thing I know for sure
The Olympics will captivate the world for two weeks. You knew I had to go there, right? One story I just heard, and I don’t know whether or not it’s actually true, is that the world’s fastest man, Usian Bolt, has never run a full mile.

And yet his amazing speed will captivate us all.

Talent grips us. We are overtaken by the beauty of Michelangelo’s sculpture, riveted by Mariah Carey’s angelic voice, doubled over in laughter by the comedy of Robin Williams, and captivated by the on screen performances of Denzel Washington.
— John C. Maxwell

 

 

Tell me in the comments:

What Summer Olympic sport captivates you?

Do you talk about your training with new people you meet?

What else captivates you?