Run the Race
“Sometimes
it's necessary and important to make mistakes, to fumble around and
do something poorly so we can learn to do it better next time. No
matter what we're doing or what we're learning, we have to start
somewhere. Look back at the past. We learned by trying, stumbling,
falling, getting back up, and trying again. We wouldn't be where
we're at if we hadn't begun where we were.”
Melody
Beattie (Journey to the Heart)
There was a clip on the
news last night about a one-hundred-year-old, African American woman
running a 100 meter race. About ten meters in, she fell flat on her
face and cut a gash her chin. Instead of lying there, broken, she got
up, went back to the start line, and ran the race again. She
commented on the fall, saying, “You're going to have some
set-backs. You don't let that stop you. Get up. Go again.” She
ended up having the fastest time, and winning the race.
There's a lesson in there
for all of us. Making mistakes is part of life; it's how we learn.
It's frustrating, I'll admit, but necessary to building competence in
any area, not the least of which is our ability to endure through
frustration. Something I noticed about that hundred year old woman
was the clarity of her mind. She had been a school teacher all her
working life, and she was still sharp. Staying the course in the face
of frustration, learning something new, and trying again helps us hold on to our healthy brain cells. Staying active, even when you're
a century old, doesn't hurt either.
The myth of perfection is
just that—it's a myth. We may enjoy perfection momentarily, but we
don't live there. Perfection is like being on vacation in
Bali—fabulous while you're there, but short lived. Then you go back
to trial and error, learn a little more, get better, and slowly work
your way up to one more moment of perfection. If you quit because
you didn't do it right the first time—or the second or third—you'll
never make it to Bali.
Melody Beattie concludes:
“You may not always know the best way in the beginning, but if you
keep trying, you'll quickly learn to tell when you're on track.”
Keep trying. Get up, brush yourself off, and go again.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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