Ann Landers wrote an advice column many years ago in response to someones question regarding if they should follow their heart and pursue an opportunity that had come along. This was her response...
Hubby was cruising through the Edmonton Journal one day and found this little article and cut it out for me. That was probably 18 years ago and I still have it posted on my bulletin board at home and have a copy of it pinned to my office wall at work.
"Don't be afraid to fail"...those words have propelled me to do a great many things in my life that I would not have had the courage to do under normal circumstances. Things like climb mountains, take new job opportunities, share my quirky view of the world with you, have tough conversations that I normally shy away from, take Spanish lessons and try new activities.
One of those activities was speed skating. There is a local club not far from home and last winter we were looking for an activity that would not only be a good workout but also a great place to get together socially with other people.
The club organizer is very enthusiastic and his excitement rubbed off on us. Before we knew what was happening we had purchased new skates and paid up our fees. It was only after our cash investment that I thought to ask what exactly the sport would do for us from a fitness standpoint. He told us that it is a great cardio workout (sounds good), that our legs would get stronger (really good), quads would get tight (ah, speaking my language) and bulk up a bit (what? no...no...noooo). And last but not least our butts would probably get firmer and bigger due to the technique (ayyyyyy). Ok, right at that point I wanted my money back because due to the genetic disposition of the fat cell dispensation on my body, anything that makes me bigger in the lower regions is definitely a NO-GO!
I was trapped. A little voice in my head said "don't be afraid to fail" to which I told the little voice to shut up. Being a success at this would mean a big butt and thighs to match. What to do, what to do? Press on was my decision and to heck with the consequences.
I must admit that I was a little apprehensive...I have never done much skating before and speed skates have crazy long blades that are hard enough to maneuver around, never mind my klutz factor (which always has to be considered). After getting onto the ice the first time and making one round on the short track oval without wiping out I figured I was good to go. It was the beginning of my weekly dose of humiliation.
In front of people I fell, tripped, flapped my arms like a bird and generally made a nuisance of myself as the more highly skilled skated circles around me...literally. Getting around the corners of the oval was terrifying and doing "cross-overs" was impossible because I was scared to lift my feet off the ice.
I learned many valuable lessons like:
- blades should be sharp, that way if you can do cross-overs, you won't fall
- wear a wrist guard on the left wrist so that when you do fall you won't break your wrist
- wear tight fitting pants so (again) when you fall and slide on the ice, you won't leave your pants behind
- when you fall make sure you fall towards the padding along the walls so that you don't get the wind knocked out of you
- and lastly, stay flexible so that when you fall you can get up again very quickly...maybe so quickly that no one even realized you were down to begin with
- oh, and don't be afraid to fall, um, I mean fail
The turning point came when I stopped caring what others were thinking about me and decided to just let loose and figure it out, even if it meant looking bad, which I had already had lots of practice with. I realized that over time I was staying on my feet longer, getting better with technique and enjoying myself a lot!
So, after wrapping up the first season of speed skating I had a decision to make. Would I sign up again for this coming winter? I made my decision when the organizer brought spandex suits for each of us to try on...we would look like a team, cohesive, official, athletic. I put mine on, very aware of the many things I have tried to hide with baggy pants and big shirts. Isn't there a rule somewhere about spandex and people over 40? I always thought there should be...anyhow, I just broke the rule and bought the pants.
Hubby flipped out the blades from my skates and installed the balls to convert them to roller blades, so I'll be hitting the road to train to for the winter speed skating season. Luckily to-date there has been no sign of an enlarged butt or thunder thighs, only a feeling of accomplishment that I tackled something brand new and fell in love with it even though it was a challenge.
Stay active my friends...
"Don't be afraid to fail"
You've failed many times although you don't remember
You fell down the first time you tried to walk
You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim
Did you hit the ball the first time you swung the bat?
Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs , also strike out a lot
R.H. Macy failed 7 times before his store in New York caught on
Novelist John Creasy got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books
Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs, but also struck out 1,330 times
The message is: don't worry about failure
Worry instead about the chances you miss when you don't even try
Hubby was cruising through the Edmonton Journal one day and found this little article and cut it out for me. That was probably 18 years ago and I still have it posted on my bulletin board at home and have a copy of it pinned to my office wall at work.
"Don't be afraid to fail"...those words have propelled me to do a great many things in my life that I would not have had the courage to do under normal circumstances. Things like climb mountains, take new job opportunities, share my quirky view of the world with you, have tough conversations that I normally shy away from, take Spanish lessons and try new activities.
One of those activities was speed skating. There is a local club not far from home and last winter we were looking for an activity that would not only be a good workout but also a great place to get together socially with other people.
The club organizer is very enthusiastic and his excitement rubbed off on us. Before we knew what was happening we had purchased new skates and paid up our fees. It was only after our cash investment that I thought to ask what exactly the sport would do for us from a fitness standpoint. He told us that it is a great cardio workout (sounds good), that our legs would get stronger (really good), quads would get tight (ah, speaking my language) and bulk up a bit (what? no...no...noooo). And last but not least our butts would probably get firmer and bigger due to the technique (ayyyyyy). Ok, right at that point I wanted my money back because due to the genetic disposition of the fat cell dispensation on my body, anything that makes me bigger in the lower regions is definitely a NO-GO!
I was trapped. A little voice in my head said "don't be afraid to fail" to which I told the little voice to shut up. Being a success at this would mean a big butt and thighs to match. What to do, what to do? Press on was my decision and to heck with the consequences.
I must admit that I was a little apprehensive...I have never done much skating before and speed skates have crazy long blades that are hard enough to maneuver around, never mind my klutz factor (which always has to be considered). After getting onto the ice the first time and making one round on the short track oval without wiping out I figured I was good to go. It was the beginning of my weekly dose of humiliation.
In front of people I fell, tripped, flapped my arms like a bird and generally made a nuisance of myself as the more highly skilled skated circles around me...literally. Getting around the corners of the oval was terrifying and doing "cross-overs" was impossible because I was scared to lift my feet off the ice.
I learned many valuable lessons like:
- blades should be sharp, that way if you can do cross-overs, you won't fall
- wear a wrist guard on the left wrist so that when you do fall you won't break your wrist
- wear tight fitting pants so (again) when you fall and slide on the ice, you won't leave your pants behind
- when you fall make sure you fall towards the padding along the walls so that you don't get the wind knocked out of you
- and lastly, stay flexible so that when you fall you can get up again very quickly...maybe so quickly that no one even realized you were down to begin with
- oh, and don't be afraid to fall, um, I mean fail
The turning point came when I stopped caring what others were thinking about me and decided to just let loose and figure it out, even if it meant looking bad, which I had already had lots of practice with. I realized that over time I was staying on my feet longer, getting better with technique and enjoying myself a lot!
So, after wrapping up the first season of speed skating I had a decision to make. Would I sign up again for this coming winter? I made my decision when the organizer brought spandex suits for each of us to try on...we would look like a team, cohesive, official, athletic. I put mine on, very aware of the many things I have tried to hide with baggy pants and big shirts. Isn't there a rule somewhere about spandex and people over 40? I always thought there should be...anyhow, I just broke the rule and bought the pants.
Hubby flipped out the blades from my skates and installed the balls to convert them to roller blades, so I'll be hitting the road to train to for the winter speed skating season. Luckily to-date there has been no sign of an enlarged butt or thunder thighs, only a feeling of accomplishment that I tackled something brand new and fell in love with it even though it was a challenge.
Stay active my friends...
