The Best Part: Embracing the Challenge

The Best Part: Embracing the Challenge

It’s time for another post to remind you to keep dreaming and keep working!  If you remember, Folgers is creating a platform to spread optimism, share positivity, and encourage a pay it forward attitude.  Today I hope to add to the good vibes sweeping the online community with some encouraging words.  In this post, I will mention some of my victories and some of my “failures.”  I share everything with the hope that it can help those who read it and not with a desire to highlight my own accomplishments.  Please read this with that in mind. You’ve heard me talk about basketball and Crossfit before.  I love these sports not only because I am competitive person, but also because I feel like these sports teach me things that spill over into all parts of my life and make me a better person in general.  Perseverance, teamwork, and goal setting are just a few.  Recently I started competing in my first Crossfit Competitions and it’s been really fun to get back into the competitive ring.  Possibly the best and worst thing about Crossfit is that there are so many movements (from body weight, to weight lifting, to gymnastics type movements) that you always have something to work on. I love that because it means there is always a challenge, but it also means there is always the possibility for failure and frustration.  For the perfectionists out there, that can be intimidating.

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I remember when I was growing up and a few years into my basketball career, I already knew that I wanted to play basketball in college.  Because I set this goal for myself, I took every practice very seriously – from the line sprints to the dribbling drills to the hours of shooting.  Back then, I wanted so badly to be perfect, to literally make every shot and to win every game, and when I didn’t – I was heartbroken.  Negative thoughts filled my mind and tears flowed. Of course, once the thoughts and tears took over, (although I forced my body to keep going) I might as well have quit because my confidence was gone.  Because I wanted to achieve my dream so badly, any small failure felt like I was getting further and further away from what I believed I was supposed to be and do with my life.

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I was so blessed that my parents supported and nurtured my dream from a young age.  Part of that support involved taking me to basketball lessons with Ron Brewer (an Arkansas basketball legend who played a number of years in the NBA) multiple times a week.

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Ron Brewer-photo via

Of course in my eyes Ron was the end all be all, so when he sat me down to talk to me about this need for perfection and really, my fear of failure, I listened.  I don’t remember the exact words Ron used, but I do remember his message.  He said each shot I put up, each hour I put in was bringing me closer to my dream.  He said I shouldn’t look at lost games and missed shots as failures, but rather let those moments propel me, to use them as motivation to keep putting in the work.  Most people will slow down or stop and give up, so a little perseverance will put you ahead of the pack. The work is the key.  No amount of desire or hope can be a substitute for the work.  And as I continued to work, to put in the time at the gym, my confidence grew.  Confidence can’t be created, it’s developed.  It grows as you realize you deserve to succeed because you’ve put in the work that others haven’t. So, I’ll bring it back to present day now.  In Crossfit, there are many movements that are difficult for me and although I’ve improved over the past 2 years, there are still things that I have trouble with – one of those being muscle ups.

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muscle up diagram found here

And of course muscle-ups happened to be in one of the competitions that we signed up for.  When our team realized that this movement would severely hamper our ability to finish well, we could have pulled out or even opted to do an easier movement (for more reps).  But instead, we embraced the challenge and allowed it to propel us.  In two weeks we were able to do the movement, not perfectly but able.  I went into the competition knowing that I was capable, but still nervous because I hadn’t put in the work on that particular movement for long enough to really be confident.  Long story short, I didn’t do as well as I wanted in stringing together multiple muscle-ups, but I successfully completed the movement several times.  We didn’t win the workout, in fact we were the last team to finish in our heat.  I wasn’t happy about it at the time, but in a few hours I was over the “embarrassment” of being last and embracing the fact that I had achieved a goal.  And I knew that I would use that moment of seeming “failure” to make me work harder at the gym.  And while others would call that workout a failure, I certainly don’t look at it that way – because I’m using the experience to propel me instead of paralyze me.

I’ve used a lot of sports stories today to get my point across, but if you aren’t into athletics I hope you can at least take the principles and apply them to your own life, to your own dreams.  The main question posed today was “Will you let the fear of failure paralyze you or propel you?”  I hope your answer is the latter friends.  Great risks bring great rewards and the satisfaction of a goal reached is worth the work.

This post was brought to you by Blogher and Folgers Coffee.  Folgers Coffee is dedicated to creating a platform where inspiring stories can encourage our online community.  They are calling this platform, “The Best Part.” FeedAd_Logo1_TM

The Best Part is an online community that’s dedicated to brightening your day—every day. How? By spreading optimism, one share at a time. The Best Part posts inspirational stories, encouraging quotes, good news and other upbeat items on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—and encourages fans and followers to share that optimism with their friends. Because when optimism is shared, it grows, making an even more positive impact on our world. Check out what others are sharing on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

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