When someone accomplishes something great, they win an award, or finish an extraordinary feat, they often thank the people that helped them along the way.
We hear these stories during the Academy Awards, on Real Sports and during Olympic coverage of the summer and winter games. This week, we heard it in post game interviews with Elite Eight teams headed to Houston next Saturday. VCU’s Coach said something to the effect, “that it didn’t matter that no one thought his boys would make it this far. They believed in themselves and only their confidence and hard work mattered.”
Wouldn’t we be disappointed if a coach or player took the mic and said “I deserve this and only me. I worked harder than everyone and didn’t need anyone’s help.”
Such a statement, so self-centered, so biting, would hurt everyone in earshot. It would hurt because we know the sentiment cannot be true.
Bottom line is we need one another. We are communal beings that often can only be our best selves with the direct encouragement, care and involvement of others.
So why then, knowing this about ourselves, are we so shocked when we cannot change for the better without help?
A few months ago I wrote an Article about a class I took at a local yoga studio called Transforming your Life. It was a weekly meeting that had elements of sharing, accountability, encouragement and self discovery. It wouldn’t have been effective if I had undergone this exploration alone at home, with a work book or online tutorial. It was the group that made the process possible, and I believe, change occur.
This past Saturday, I ran 4miles before 9am. Please, be impressed. I was. I am not an intense athlete that plans workouts for every day of my life. I am a sort of, soft core, daisy smelling athlete that enjoys getting outside when the weather permits and will mostly plan athletic events that involve snacks and friends.
I didn’t run on my own, full of grit and drive. I ran with 40 new friends that all joined a class through a local running store to help train us for a 10k this May. YES. I paid for these new friends and they are worth every penny. For the low low price of $100, I get months of encouragement, hand-holding, a written work out schedule, nice people every week telling me how great I am doing, and at the end, I will have the ability to run a 10K.
