Welcome to Radio Headspace. I'm Dora.
I've talked about this before,
but it's about the time I ran a relay ultramarathon from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Over 50 hours, nearly 350 miles.
You run in the dark, you cheer from the side of the road,
you nap in vans, and you rely on your team for everything.
Before the race, I caught myself thinking, I don't want to be the weakest link.
And in the same breath, I don't want to make anyone else feel like they are.
It was a quiet kind of pressure,
wanting to do my best without making anyone else feel like they weren't enough.
And we hear it all the time, run your own race.
But some of the most meaningful growth happens when we stop thinking like solo athletes and start thinking like teammates.
Even mindfulness works this way.
When I meditate, I'm not just calming my mind.
I'm also changing how I move through the world.
My breath becomes steadier, my reactions slower, my compassion stronger.
And all of that affects the people around me.
You can train in compassion like an athlete trains in strength.
And when you do, Your whole community benefits.
During that ultramarathon, there was a moment I'll never forget.