Easy Way to Potty Train: Growing with Basia.
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Tag Archives: calgary
The Bob Ross Project
I recently began a journey that will hopefully result in growing an aspect of myself and community we never imagined possible.
What Did You Do? Continue reading
Just Try Harder.
Several years ago my friend Roger Fage spoke three words to me that changed a huge part of my life.
“Just Try Harder.”
I had met Roger in Halifax around 2010 and then during a random climbing trip to Kamourska, Quebec our paths crossed again.
We spoke of all the things and none of the things, but the one thing that stuck with me was this particularly conversation.
He told me for a long time he was stuck. He was unable to progress in his climbing and seemed to feel like he had plateaued. Then one day, one of his friends told him the secret to success. “Just try harder.” And from then on he was surpassing his current climbing ability.
I don’t know what it was about this moment because I’ve heard those words so many times before. However, perhaps was just the right time, the right place and the look on his face as he turned away from me and stared at the climb above us.
Just. Try. Harder.
Ever since then it has been one of my top 5 mantras in achieving things. Whenever I feel stuck in something and feel as though I have plateaued in my own ability and skill, I take a moment to reassess what I am doing wrong.
I look at the factors and the variables and I start making excuses.
Then. I catch myself and it dawns of me. The words of an amazing, even keeled human…
Just try harder.
Then I take a deep breath and do you know what I do next ? I try harder.
Since my recent ACL tear, I have felt like I have fallen backwards in so many aspects of my life. My strength, my flexibility, my will power.
Prior to my injury I was just barely maintaining my fitness and then suddenly, goals that were already barely within arms reach had become insurmountable. I look at my before photos and now I’ve gained weight, gotten soft, lost endurance.
I stopped writing blog posts. I stopped stretching. I stopped trying.
I stopped trying.
This is the moment I assess all the factors and variables again. Cloud my mind with why I can’t and why I won’t. Fill my heart with excuses. This is also the moment that I stop doing that and get my soul together and once again realize the answer to all my recent setbacks is to,
Just Try Harder.
Coming soon. The new and improved Melba Fucking Seto.
YOU Have To Be the Source Of Your Inspiration.
I just ran 7km off the couch and didn’t die.
Often times we look to others to inspire us, push us, challenge us. Though it’s important to use others as a nitro boost, the most important place to look is in yourselves.
I’ve been raised to compare myself to those around me. People who are smarter, taller, stronger. Where did it get me? Well for a long time it cultivated a creature who was low self confident, insecure and unsure.
Somewhere along the way the real me emerged and I started comparing, myself to myself and things began to change.
When I do things now, I work to outdo myself and in doing so I am solely accountable for my successes and failures.
When we compare ourselves to someone else we can then easily make excuses for why we didn’t succced. “Oh well he can run farther because he’s a guy.” Or “they’ve trained their whole life to play sports.”
Today I ran – like an old lady turtle – 7km. My only goal was to get outside. Get to the next tree, the next bench, the next Canadian goose.
” Can’t Rush This. “
Shuffle step shuffle step. On more than one occasion starting from leaving work I was making excuses “ugh it’s getting late.” “I’m hungry.”
When I parked the car at Edworthy Park I looked around and thought one thing at a time.
I put on my heart rate monitor. I strapped my knee stabilizers. I filled my little hip water bottles.
I started to walk towards the trail. Set my playlist. Turned on my heart rate monitor. Took a breath. Here we go.
The first 100m. Ugh I’m so awkward, my breathing is off. My legs hurt. Then I would take a moment and look around. A train passed. I watched it and smiled. “I love trains.”
Shuffle step shuffle step. One step at a time.
It’s a lot like life. When you look at the whole picture, we get overwhelmed. Work, bills, life, success. If we just try to look at one thing at a time, just the things in front of us. Time will pass, things will get done and before you know it your knees no longer hurt. Your breathing is steady, the world is less scary and 7km seems like something totally doable.
I only had myself to compete with and whether I finished or not I’m just happy I make the effort to show up. However since I DID finish!! I now have something to look to when I need to inspire myself.
Now. I eat.
