Lean In!

I slept in this morning, if you can call it that after having been woken up twice by my six year old by 6:45am, first asking me if I would help him dig through the couch for the remote and then to tell me he found a crayon and a bug in the couch. I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I woke up, though, it was too late to take advantage of the cool ocean air and indirect sunlight for my morning run. It meant facing the hot sun on my face and sweating profusely, looking somewhat like a speckled zombie on my way. I did it. I say that with a bit of pride, as I've not always had the will to be temporarily uncomfortable in order to get that endorphin rush and feeling of accomplishment that comes with pushing myself. My run was everything I thought it would be- hot, sweaty, and ugly, but I did it and it feels great!

During everything I do that really challenges me, which includes every single run, I invariably hit a point where I realize I'm tired, I hurt, and I want to stop. I no longer naturally move in a forward direction. It occurred to me one day recently when I was forced to run into the wind that at these moments I have two distinct choices before me- lean back or lean in. Every person who has ever experienced anything difficult has felt the pull of these juxtaposing forces. I have taken both paths. I have succumbed to my fatigue and leaned back, letting my lower body carry me along at a much lower intensity. It is a short-term relief, I admit, but it doesn't make me better. Now that I recognize this moment of choice, which sometimes lasts for half my work-out, I can clearly see the temptation to lean back and instead choose to do the opposite- lean in! The feeling of recommitting to the challenge and defiantly pushing forward (leading with the chest, not the shoulders, of course), though admittedly painful, is a rush that stretches the human spirit, as well as the body.

We're all inspired by people who accomplish nearly super-human things- Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Oscar Pistorius (murder charge aside), Mother Teresa. The trick is to not see them as superheroes that just aren't limited like the rest of us. That makes it too easy to dismiss our own challenges because we just weren't built as strong as they were, be that strength physical, mental, or emotional. The truth is, they are just like us, but given the challenge and the choice, they lean in! Today, I choose to lean in, and my muscles and my spirit are stronger for it.