This Week’s Inspiration: “Better” Has No Finish Line
by Jenny Hansen

 

This “getting back in shape” stuff is killing me.

Last week, I shared with you some important lessons Crossfit is teaching me about writing. Today, I want to talk about what Crossfit is teaching me about myself.

I have a hard time embracing the process of change.

Change doesn’t bug me so much when it’s quick…like sucking in a breath and ripping off a bandage. Fast, sweeping changes, even when I have no choice, don’t bother me as much as the incremental, “chipping away miniscule pieces” kind. You know, where you don’t even see the daily progress because it’s so slight?

That water-dripping-on-a-rock change drives me into a frenzy of impatience, usually followed by the temptation to give up the goal.

Others I know, including my own husband, are great at putting (and keeping) their faith in the process. They trust that one day, they’ll look in the mirror and BAM! All those tiny chips will have paid off and they’ll have sculpted out a finished goal…a clean office…a book…a better body.

This weakness of mine, even though I couldn’t articulate it before, is why I jumped in to do Crossfit with my husband. Because I knew I’d quit on my own.

And my hat’s off to Hubby on this one. The poor man hears comments like:

• Is anything on me smaller/harder/higher/better?
• Can’t you find any difference?
• How come you’re losing all those inches on your waist and I haven’t shed a pound?!
• Remind me again why we’re doing this!!

I swear to God, I’m like a kid on a car ride: “Are we there yet? Are we there yet??”

Usually, he just points at our daughter and remains silent. But a few weeks back, he eyeballed me and said, “Your ribs are sticking out more.” It might have only been a half-inch difference, but I was happy for days.

Slow change SUCKS, in my humble opinion.

I’m a big-picture kind of gal and it’s really hard to envision the importance of “slow change” in a big-picture kind of way. I’m struggling with the need to be patient…there’s just no way around it. I can’t get stronger any faster.

I keep reminding myself to keep the faith…to wait and see where a year of this torture will take me.

But I have to admit it: after four months of hard exercise, it’s tough to swallow that I still pretty much suck at Crossfit. I’m still incapable of doing a great push-up. (Frankly, I’d even settle for a crappy one, as long as my body was extended and I was doing more than oozing to the floor.)

Then…at a staff meeting this week, I got a much-needed message from the universe.

I watched four highly-placed executives get up and publicly admit that their management style wasn’t working and ask their team for help. I saw integrity and teamwork in action. And one of the people in the meeting mentioned the quote I used in the title of this post:

Better has no finish line.

The subscript of the ad above says: “Better is in our nature. It’s who we were born to be.”

In that moment, I got it.

In watching others pick themselves up and dust off their cracked egos, I saw the answer: As long as you keep trying, eventually you will be strong enough and proficient enough to attain your goal. If you’re like me, you should get a good coach and a great team to help you stay on task.

My recommendation? Be sure to include someone like my guy, who’ll notice miniscule changes and compliment you on them. Trust the gal with the bony ribs…it helps.

Wishing you another great week, filled with strength and perfect push-ups…
Jenny

Photo credit: Arrowhead water ad, courtesy of CBS Television

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About Jenny Hansen

By day, Jenny provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction and short stories. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at or at Writers In The Storm. Jenny also writes the Risky Baby Business posts at More Cowbell, a series that focuses on babies, new parents and high-risk pregnancy.

© 2012 Jenny Hansen. All content on this page is protected by copyright. If you would like to use any part of this, please contact me at the above links to request permission.