Life Lesson: Push Through

Monday through Friday, I awaken at 4:30 a.m. so I can be sure I get a work out for the day before heading to my day job. My primary exercise is a walking, jogging, running trip around the neighborhood. I go for about 45 minutes and I have gotten to a point where I look forward to the exercise and time spent to improve my health.

Today was 'one of those days', however. My first sign was that I pushed the doze button on my alarm clock and had to rely on my backup alarm to get me going on time. Now, I have had to use the backup alarm before but something about this morning was different. As I started to put my workout clothes on and tie my shoes, the thought kept going through my mind, “Go back to bed. It won’t hurt you to miss one day.” I pressed on even though other parts of my body seemed to join the chorus with the brain about taking the day off.

As I went out the door, my mind decided that the first attack wasn’t working, so it hit me from another direction.

“Instead of including the jogging and running, just take a walk.”

Normally, on the weekends, since I allow myself to sleep in, I usually just power walk but go for a longer distance. My mind was screaming, “just take a short version of the weekend walk.” As I reached the first corner at the end of my block, I was starting to agree. Okay, just a walk today.

As I rounded the corner, to leave my subdivision, my body decided to put its opinion into the mix. My legs and arms felt stiff. They didn’t really loosen up like they normally do by this point. Instead of a power walk, let’s just make it a nice stroll. The temperature outside of Houston this morning was a little lower that it has been, in the lower 70’s. It was a very pleasant morning. "Go on big guy, let’s just take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the cooler morning." It was about this time that I hit the point where I normally begin to jog a little.

Personal note – I have done athletic activities since I was a small boy. I have had all manner of injuries and ailments from minor to major. One of the things that I pride myself about my athletic background is that I have learned to listen and understand what my body is telling me. I know when it is just sore and wanting a break and when it is not good for me to continue. A good example is from probably the worst injury that I have suffered, a dislocated knee while playing baseball. All the ligaments, cartilage were damaged. For the most part, the bottom of my leg was not really still in connection with the top part of my leg. I knew it was bad when my sister the nurse gasped when she first saw it at the emergency room.

Anyway, I was going to the doctor on a frequent basis, following every instruction to ensure that I healed quickly and correctly. It came a time when I was on a doctor’s visit when he told me that I could probably start to wean myself from the crutches in about two weeks. I picked up the crutches, walked across the exam room, and told the doctor that I already had gotten off them. I just used them for his benefit when I came in that day.

I tell that story for this reason; I knew when I first tried to put weight on my leg back then, I realized it was too soon. So I backed off. But I tried it again, every so often, and finally there was something different when I put the weight on my knee. Yes, it still hurt but that was going to happen. I knew that it was time to start putting more pressure on it. Slowly but surely, the leg got better. I knew what my body was telling me.

This morning I knew my body was just trying to get off easy. I hit the spot where I begin to jog, something clicked telling me that I needed to jog until I got to the run portion of the workout.

You know what?

My body responded. I pushed through all of the negative thoughts I was having. I pushed through all the soreness and stiffness that seemed to hit me for some reason. By the time I got to the last portion of the workout, my body was ready to go. So much so, that I had to make myself back off a little to keep from over doing it. (I am still not in top form, so I have to be careful. I am 47 not 27.)

The life lesson that I followed today is that sometimes you have to push through. I used my morning workout as the example but it is so much more important in the rest of your life. We all have times when things are not going the way that we want. We feel like, “What’s the use?” Nothing is working out.

Or even on a lesser scale, we get to a point where we are like my body; life has us a little sore and stiff. So what if we just coast through the day, our job, the project we are working on, or maybe even things in our personal life. You know, the old story, my co-workers know I appreciate what they do, I don’t need to say anything. She knows I love her; I don’t need to tell her.

The problem with this is the same reason I was determined to have a good workout this morning, if I let myself slack off this one time, it becomes easier the next. If we coast through one day on the job and nothing bad happens, why not try it more often. Soon it becomes a habit. A bad habit. Hopefully, you can see all of the ramifications that would, could, and do occur in your personal life.

Learn to recognize the times when you need to push through and then push through. My workout was great because I pushed through. Just think about the things we can accomplish if we push through in the rest of our lives.

Keep Smilin’!!

© Eddy Seegers 2008

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