Lifting Limits

images hot air balloon

 

I was working out with my trainer today when he asked me to push up with my legs and lift the weight on the machine. My feet didn’t move. “I can’t do this— I can’t even move my feet”, I said. He replied with no emotion— “sure you can”. I sat there awhile and looked at him. He didn’t change his stance and it was apparent that my plea was going nowhere. I truly believed that what he was trying to get me to do was virtually impossible. I was angry that he didn’t understand how I really couldn’t do it. However, as I looked at this face, I realized that he wasn’t buying any of it.

 

I harnessed all the energy I had in my body and willed it into my feet. I stopped talking and just focused on the action. You will never believe what happened next. Somehow, I was able to lift the weight up and down. It certainly wasn’t easy and I barely made it through the process but I was able to get through it. I proceeded to do 3 sets of 12 reps. Let’s remember that I originally said that I couldn’t even move my legs at all, yet, somehow I was able to accomplish this feat.

 

How did that happen? How was I able to accomplish this when I originally felt that I wasn’t capable of this type of endeavor?

 

After I was done working out, I thought about this experience. I consider myself to be someone that’s always pushing to try new things and get outside my comfort zone. However, this experience made me realize that I need to closely monitor my responses to new challenges. Even I get into my habits and safe places in life. It just feels so good in my comfort zone.

 

This lead me to think about how pushing myself out of my comfort zone is a day-to-day process. Maybe some days I challenge myself and move forward, but other days I fall back into believing that self-defeating stuff. The talk in my head really had done a bang up job convincing me that my challenge was an impossible task.

 

I’m sure there are a couple of things right now in your life that you would like to change. Maybe your excuse for not moving forward is that “it just can’t be done”. Maybe it’s that you’ve failed before, so the process is futile. Maybe you feel that the challenge is overwhelming and way to huge to even consider. Whatever it is, I want you to question that voice in your head that vehemently believes it can’t be done.

 

I want you to realize that you are capable of accomplishing great things.

 

After you question that person in your head, I want you to do just one thing. I want you to harness all your energy and will your body to focus on taking that ONE STEP. It doesn’t have to be something big— just a little step forward that will move you closer to your goal.

 

Just TRY giving it everything you’ve got. Yes, I know it won’t be easy. However, you just might surprise yourself.

 

 

Common Courtesy

images courtesy at workThere probably isn’t a person in Cincinnati that didn’t see the epic fail in common courtesy that took place at the recent Saints-Bengals game. Let me paint the picture: Jermaine Gresham of the Cincinnati Bengals had just scored a touchdown at the Saints Stadium. Although there were very few Bengals fans in the Saints stadium, there was one very excited fan in the end zone seating. Jermaine instantly locked eyes with her and gave her the game ball. However, when she reached down to receive her gift, the Saints fan intercepted the ball with a well-placed elbow shove.

 

Shocked, the fan pleaded with him to give her the ball. The pleas were met with deaf ears as he refused to give up his stolen prize. Later, the Saints found her in the stadium and gifted her with another ball— but the damage had already been done. As you can imagine, the story has received plenty of media attention

 

What possessed this grown man to pull such a stunt? Why would a Saints fan even want the touchdown ball? More importantly, where did all of our common courtesy go?

 

I’m sure most of you can name a time when you’ve experienced a lack of common courtesy in the workplace. Maybe it came in the form of a rude email from a colleague. Or maybe it was a supervisor that sat through your entire presentation while checking their phone for emails. Never mind that you stayed up all night to complete this project. It could be that a co-worker begged you to take on their work and then neglected to appreciate your help appropriately.

 

I’m going to imagine that whatever the experience, it didn’t feel good. You felt hurt, angry, frustrated, discouraged or possibly a combination of all of these. How could behavior like this happen in your organization? Well, maybe it all starts with you. Your ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is key to becoming adept at the niceties of life. The truth is that we’re all guilty of forgetting our manners now and then.

 

In the best of organizations, you will eventually come across an experience like the ones described above. It’s almost impossible to avoid these types of interactions. The organization’s culture dictates the level of impoliteness that you come across in the workplace. Your leadership behavior dictates what is accepted and not accepted within the organization.

 

So I ask you to take a good clear look at yourself. Do you take your leadership role seriously? If so, you must be honest about your interactions with others. It’s imperative that you step back and give thought to your own lapses in courtesy in your relationships— because I’m pretty certain there’s a few.

 

Resilient leaders are proven during tough times and there are plenty of tough times in today’s world. Your success is dependent upon your ability to rise above the chaos and stress, handling challenges with strength while treating others with grace and respect.

It all begins and ends with how you treat others.