2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 831.9 Aaron: 536.3 (b: 470.6; w: 65.7) Elly: 220.8 Total: 1589.4
Whew!! Today was a blustery one!!
It was perfectly Fall today including all of its beauty and hazards -- namely, an abundance of acorns and walnuts hanging out on the streets just waiting to trip me. Fortunately, I'm so accustomed to looking out for change that seeing and avoiding fallen nuts is just not a thing. Further, I'm pleased to report that yesterday's Be the Orange mantra worked, and I walked none of the three hills I considered by reminding myself of what I wanted out of this run. And, it wasn't to be a tangerine ...
I wanted to run 5 miles today except I had a last-minute meeting to attend. In short, the outcome of the meeting was what it should have been, but, MAN, it was painful to get there! My gripe: I'm so sick and tired of excuses and nay-sayers and giver-uppers. I'm not sure I can count how many ways the person with whom we were meeting threw up ridiculous (not to mention irrelevant) road blocks during the process of what I thought was supposed to be a problem-solving session, not to mention the countless times she threw up her hands in the "there's nothing else I can do" narrative.
"Nothing?" Really ...
You can bet there was not only something she could do, but, by the end of the meeting, we walked out of there with a reasonable solution. I say 'we' as, thankfully, Aaron was with me. By the middle of the meeting, I'd already adopted my "You've got to be kidding me face" and had actually uttered, "Unbelievable" as I dropped my head toward the ground in utter disbelief that the person we were talking to conveyed no desire to solve anything; it was Aaron to the rescue as he moved the conversation forward while I mentally recovered. I would have picked my head up quickly had he not been there. But, he was, so I capitalized on the opportunity to regroup. I'll also happily own the fact that the woman was done with me. I didn't really care because if she continued to be a road block, I'd just keep going. See? Another path exists.
If there's one thing about me, it's that I don't tend to stop when I see a reasonable possibility/solution to something. That's not to say there's always a different solution (or, at least one that will please me), but it is to say that, more often than not, there are multiple avenues to pursue, not just a tunnel-visioned one. Even if I wind up where I started, at least I know I tried. I just find that so many people just don't seem to want to stretch themselves to see another way, or they don't want to take on the work of having to do something different ... or, whatever it is, it's crazy.
What a waste of the intelligence and critical thinking skills we have been given to intentionally opt to the path of least resistance as a matter of course instead of working toward being productive! Seriously. It grates on my last nerve.
I couldn't help but wonder in how many areas of her life this woman just throws up her hands when her singular attempt at a solving a problem doesn't work out. One's mode of operation tends to permeate everything rather than to compartmentalize. I can certainly say that for myself. I know those periods of my life when I've put in less than my all, employed excuses even though I would have never called them that and just gotten by. No one else necessarily knew this, but I did. And, to everyone else, things looked fine.
But, why shoot for fine ...? Why is that the standard?
I get that, especially as of late in this non-training stretch, I talk about my runs being 'just fine.' My point there, though, is to communicate that to get out and try and/or enjoy running, it's not necessary to be of Olympic caliber: It's okay to just go. But, personally, every run gets everything I have that day. All of it. Even when 'all' looks like very little to anyone watching. It's what I have, and I'm happy about it. Me as compared to me.
And, it's because I learned and engrained long, long ago to not quit on a whim and to give something everything I have that I have a lot of satisfaction, peace and happiness in my life. My life is very blessed; I have a responsibility to make the very most out of it. And, that doesn't happen by trying once and stopping.
I think it was good to have had the meeting with Madame Road Block post-run (but, pre-shower; maybe that's why she didn't like me by the end ...). I was pretty chill thanks to that run. And, that run happened because, many years ago, I just didn't stop even when I didn't fit the mold, when it hurt, or when it felt hopeless. Shoot, I still don't fit the mold, and it often hurts. But, that doesn't mean throw up my hands.
One more for the wonky week tomorrow! I'll check in after ...
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