“Me?!? Definitely not.”

How I ran my way to improvement.

Thoughts on Procrastination

I read an article once about how an idea could seem stupid to you yet profound to someone else. I thought that it was interesting and definately true, but this week I lived it.

Some of my classmates in Praxis were discussing procrastination. They mentioned how difficult it was for them to deal with procrastination and started brainstorming ideas of how to combat it.

I have struggled with procrastination before, but it is not a huge problem for me. Because of that, I did not think that I would have a whole lot to add to the conversation. But…

I had one thought. I suggested that someone who wanted to avoid procrastination could think of a time when they had procrastinated and then write down how it made them feel. Simple thought. I had never tried this strategy before. I had no idea if it would be effective. I did not think that it was anything special, but my classmates did. They ended up mentioning it to other classmates and resolving to try it out themselves.

It is amazing how an idea that you might not think anything of can add such value to someone else’s life.

That being said, below is an unprofound story.

You Never Know

“Why don’t you run cross country?”

“Me?!? Definitely not.”

“No, seriously, you should think about it. I am always more productive on the days when I run. You would be too.”

Eye roll, silence.

I had this “conversation” with my twin sister three months ago while running at a local park. She had been expressing to me her doubts whether or not she wanted to run the upcoming cross country season.

She had been running on the same cross country team for five years, and it was her senior year. In light of that, I had been adamantly encouraging her to run. Then, the unthinkable happened. She turned the tide on me. She started encouraging me to run with the team even though I had never run cross country before. It really hit me when she stated that it would make her much more inclined to run if I ran with her, and I thought: “What? Why??”

At first, I was dead set against it. I had always disliked running (I do not even know how she got me out that day), but after some thought, I decided that the benefits would outweigh the negatives.

This week was the last week of cross country. The end of our last workout was a relay race. Once I had finished my last lap, I ran alongside one of my teammates (who has the same name as my sister!) and encouraged her towards the finish line. In that moment, I felt the pure joy of accomplishment, being a part of something bigger, and seeing the fruits of my labor.

I am so glad that I made the decision to do something that I knew would be rewarding, but difficult. My cup was full and overflowing. I learned that some of the best things in life come through doing hard things.

If there is something that you want to do, but have not done due to fear of pain, commitment, failure, or some other reason, take it from me, you can do it!

Go Eagles!

Doing Beats Planning

In Atomic Habits by James Clear, the author tells the story of a photography class. The professor told half of the class that their grade would depend solely on the volume of photos that they submit. Submitting 100 photos would be an A, 90 would be a B, etc. The other half of the class would be graded on the quality. They had to submit one photo.

At the end of the semester, the professor was surprised to learn that the quantity students turned in photos that were better quality than the quality students!

Why? This happened because while the quantity students were out taking hundreds of photos they were also learning what made a good quality photo. The quality students spent time theorizing what made a good photo, but they did not have the hands on skills to actually shoot one.

I have experienced this myself.

We have two red heelers and a small flock of sheep. I wanted to teach one of our dogs how to herd our sheep, but I didn’t know how. So, I bought a book on sheep herding. I took me a while before I headed out to the pasture. I kept making excuses for myself.

“I will do it when the book arrives.”

“I will do it when I have read more in the book.”

“I will do it when I have finished the book.”

I put so much value on “knowing” how to teach herdin. that it hindered me from gaining the practical knowledge.

If you want to be good at something, actually going out there and doing it is more valuable than planning the best way to go about do it. Planning has its place and it can be valuable, but, ultimately, doing trumps planning. Every day.

Learn + Improve

This past week has given me many opportunities to learn and improve, and I have done my best to rise to the challenge. I hope you do too!

P.S. I learned something new this week! Check it out!