The other day it was overcast and approaching dusk. The wind was starting to pick up, and I looked at the weather report. Wind, sleet, rain. So I decided to go for a run with the thought “Well, this is going to suck!”
I purposely chose to put myself in an uncomfortable position, to be cold, wet, hungry, and miserable. Why?! So I could become better.
I chose to be in a situation that would stress me out, make me have to reach into my core and do it sheerly on gut. Every squishy step, every gust that cut through me on that short but nasty four kilometers, the drops falling off the brim of my hat as my gloves soaked in the rain and became heavy and frigid, each moment forced me to tap into my reserves.
And by drawing on my deposits of grit I had made, at the end during my hot shower I set aside more for the future, for the next time I have to dig deep. It could be my ultramarathon, it could be in the office or in my relationships. Facing pain and weakness, pushing to the point of vulnerability and beyond the normal limits expands those limits and make us stronger overall, for ourselves and others.
What can you do this week that you will look at and say “well, this is going to suck” and then do it anyway, knowing that the pain is temporary but the character developed is eternal?
