I was not aware of this until the show, but in 2009, the United Nations designated Stevie as a Messenger of Peace.  (According to Wikipedia, “United Nations Messenger of Peace is a title bestowed by the United Nations to “distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.’”)  Although he bordered on being downright preachy, Stevie did his job in delivering the message of peace.

Stevie Wonder advised the audience as follows:

Every day when you wake up, make this your mantra:  Today, I will put my best love forward.

I think there is a nugget here for all those athletes striving to be placid.  Of course, it goes without saying that the world would be a better, more peaceful and placid place if everyone awoke each morning and put his or her “best love” forward.   So let’s all do that and make the world a better place, okay?

And now let’s apply this concept to something more trivial in life:  your training.   For every workout, what would happen if you were to commit to putting your best foot forward?  By this I mean putting 100% of focus and effort on that single workout, like there is nothing else of any importance for that 20 min or 2 hours or however long that workout will last.

If you put your best love forward, and your best foot forward, then I have no doubt you will be both Placid and an Athlete.