The gym was filled with hopeful faces this morning at 5:30am as I leaned down to retie my tennis shoe and evaluate once more why I was here. The sound of treadmills rolling at various speeds; weights clattering and clicking; bicycles whistling and whirling; the smell of motivation flowing through the air. Oh yes! It is the beginning of January. Resolutions abound. It is the year to take back one’s life. It is the month of planning, organizing, redirecting, and regrouping. It is the year to GET IT RIGHT!
It was obvious those who have been around the gym, and those just beginning. I belonged to the hopeful, clean tennis shoes group, trying to look like I fit in. A really muscular female ran next to the treadmill I decided was the right one for me. I quickly put my beats by dre (the cool, ridiculously priced term for headphones) in my ears and straightened the Fit-Bit on my wrist. My exercise clothes looked fresh and new and I wished I’d chosen something different. No one was looking at anyone or we were all pretending not to look at each other when we really were.
I’ve made this “get in shape” resolution probably 35 times and failed this resolution probably 35 times. But 2016 is looking up! This year, I have a fight song.
I’m learning that victory really isn’t what most of us think victory is. We’ve grown up with the mentality that victory is in the trophy – it’s the end result – the final score – the winner’s circle. Victory, however, is more about the process than the end.
Victory is falling down and getting back up. Victory is never giving up. Victory is deciding failure isn’t an option. Victory says, “I didn’t get it wrong, I just haven’t figured out the right way yet.” (And yes, I’ve missed 35 times but this year is the one!) Victory keeps trying despite the odds.
Several weeks into December I pulled out my 2015 Resolution List. I accomplished 1/2 of it. Not so bad, really. I took the ones I had not completed, re-evaluated them, and determined if they were still suitable. I produced a list for 2016.
I don’t really have lyrics to my fight song yet. Today the words were more about “I think I can; I think I can; I think I can.” Deep within each of us there is a fighter, we just have to pull him/her out and dust them off. None of us will ever be perfect; what our goal must be, is to become our ‘best’ self – a process that isn’t an overnighter but a lifetime of trial and error.
I’ll keep you posted; and hopefully, if you see me around town, you’ll notice “less” of me. (Pun intended, of course!)
