Greg LaRose, The Daily Record Newswire
Parents understand there is no level of frustration quite on par with that of raising a teenager, who is at that stage of life when they know it all but have no experience to back their so-called wisdom. It’s only later in life that they look back and realize Mom and Dad might have known what they’re doing.
I faced my own learning curve at age 15, heading into my sophomore year in high school when there was nothing I wanted more than to try out for the football team. My parents had other plans, noting that soaking wet I topped out at a lean 115 pounds. In my mom’s words, I would be “broken in half” if I even took a step on the field.
Without their needed permission to suit up, life as I knew it was over. But seeing my teenage angst, Mom came up with a compromise. If I gained 25 pounds by the time fall tryouts arrived, my parents would reconsider their stance.
My hopes were renewed, although I had little grasp of how my hummingbird metabolism would take to gorging at mealtime and ingesting massive amounts of protein powder in between.
Skipping the unsavory details, my weight at the end of summer was right where it started. I think my Mom knew that 22 percent weight gain was all but impossible unless I had an unprecedented growth spurt, but she saw the chance to teach me a lesson.
Fast-forward 30 years to today and you will find that I have gained a whole new appreciation for my physique — along with the pounds that were so elusive back then.
My parents saw I was better suited for a noncontact pursuit and pointed me in the direction of cross-country. The sport is all about recognizing your limits and pushing past them. The competition comes from within just as much as it does from other runners.
For this reason, I still enjoy endurance sports. Many of the fitness habits I have today were first picked up in my high school days. While I will never be confused with Mr. Olympia in the weight room, I’m OK with that. You’ll still find me around the gym, embracing the abilities I have.
You could say that I’ve learned to do more with less, and it’s a lesson that I apply to my working life, too.
Who among us in business hasn’t been forced to put a goal on the shelf, either temporarily or permanently? Leaner times force us to conduct a thorough assessment of our capabilities — when we figure out what we want to do and what we can actually do.
And in some instances, we find that we actually perform better once we remove unattainable or unrealistic objectives from the picture. There’s no problem with dreaming big, as long as you’re equipped to handle the hard work it will take to reach your target.
Back in high school, I envisioned myself as a potential football phenom although I barely outweighed the water cooler. In hindsight, the water cooler may have also had more athletic ability — or at least the good sense to stay on the sidelines.
So while I never reached my gridiron dreams, I never stopped dreaming or setting goals that just needed determination, planning and the best of my existing abilities to reach.
This approach comes in handy professionally when you’re pressed to break away from the status quo. Success generally doesn’t happen in a comfort zone, so knowing when it’s time to set the bar higher is critical.
Set it too high and you may find yourself woefully short on resources. Set it too low and you might pass up an opportunity to be exceptional.
I don’t claim to be a standout runner or the next Ironman champ, but I will finish the race and probably leave a few people behind me. The accolades don’t matter as much as being able to acknowledge to myself that I pushed myself a little harder than I thought possible.
There’s probably a chance for you to do that in your business: Find your strengths, build on them and push past your comfort zone.
