Positive Twist

There is one activity in Kung Fu that I particularly don't like and that is the shuttle run. It's not the activity itself that's so bad, (and I don't care for the activity) it's all of the unpleasant childhood memories that keep rushing back when I see the dreaded hoops partnered with bean bags come out of the equipment room.

Every year in elementary school was the Canada Fitness Test and every year I dreaded it because I was always the slowest, took the longest, and was the most out of shape and I was very embarrassed because of it. And every year the bronze, silver, and gold were out of my reach and yes, embarrassed by that too. Of course one of the activities was the shuttle run and every year I failed at it. Therefore I was a failure at fitness.

I was listening to an interview with Dr. Joe Rubino on self esteem and he said something in particular that stuck with me. He said that everything has a positive to it and if it seems negative, pull out the positive from it and focus on that. A positive with the shuttle run???!!

Fast forward to Wednesday morning class when we did the dreaded shuttle run. I felt not bad running it and my time was 2:08. Somehow I can live with that as I had a feeling it was my best time ever. When I got home I pulled out the black belt criteria and saw that I was 2 seconds from the chart. I also pulled out my boot camp results from a previous few years. Two times I saw were 2:47 and then a 2:24. Hey that's a 16+ second improvement from the last recorded time. I like that. Also I'm only 2 seconds from the chart, it's doable! I feel good about my run and confidence that my times will improve over time.

One thing I can say is that it feels lighter and better to go with the positive spin than with the negative. At least I don't dread the shuttle run as much as before. However, still working on that. Also there are a couple major differences from elementary school (besides I'm older!): I have a plan and executing it and I have a support team. Huge difference to the self esteem.

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta