Seeking out the Difficult

February was National Heart Health Month, or something like that. Now I know you're thinking, "Jeremy, that was so last month." Yes, I know, but stick with me, here.

In observance of the heart-health campaign, we had a jump-rope contest at work. I hadn't jumped a rope in many years, and I'm not really all that coordinated, so I wasn't surprised that I didn't come anywhere close to winning the contest. That isn't the point.

The point is that several of us (and I'm talking about guys who are in pretty decent shape) were shocked that jumping rope turned out to be so strenuous. I felt my heart rate skyrocket almost immediately. And the thing I kept hearing from everyone wasn't how much it sucked, but, "Wow! I need to do that more often!"

In all things that require practice, one must train for his or her weaknesses rather than strengths. If a musician is a wizard at running scales, perhaps her practice time is better spent working on voice leading. If a cyclist is a strong climber, sprinting might be a good focus for training.

Apparently moving forward is something of a strength for me, while jumping up and down in one place was somehow overlooked as an area in which I'm weak. So on Friday, a couple of us went down to the workout room and busted out the jump ropes once again for some serious hopping.

If we keep it up, I might be able to make it through the Deceptacon dance without having a heart attack.



Perhaps the best kinds of goals are those which target the Difficult and aim to turn it into a Strength. Or at least let us do those hard things without it being a total shock to the system.