From day one, Gina has been very hard on me. She is already known as the toughest and best instructor at the gym. Every time we do an exercise or a stretch she will walk over to me and tell me to push it harder or I am not giving it my all. As I sit here writing this, the words; “faster, higher, move it, push it, come on now and you can do better than that,” are screaming at me louder than the music I am listening to on my IPod. That is what Gina yells as me throughout the entire hour long class. It honestly feels like it did during Hell Week at the start of my H.S. Football season. In many ways, she is harder on me than my coach was. I must admit that at first, I was a little turned off by her treatment of me. What made matters worse was that I was the youngest person in the class by at least 20 years and often times, the only male…can you say awkward. I dealt with the chastising and punishment for two reasons. First, I was taking the class for a purpose and was not about to let her treatment of me cause me to lose focus and quit. Second, there was a certain energy and strength about her that I admired. Last week, after more punishment during class, Gina and I had a brief conversation that showed me just where that energy and strength and treatment of me was coming from.
I look at you and think what if…
Usually, after class a few of the students sit in the sauna for a cool down or warm down as it were. That day after class it was just Gina and I in the sauna. She was asking me questions about my family, what I do for a living, my hopes and dreams, etc. She seemed intensely interested in what I was saying and kept telling me how proud she was of me and to keep going. “Don’t let anything stop you,” she said. As usual, I did not want to dominate the discussion and wanted to learn more about her, so I asked her to tell me about her life. She proceeded to tell me about how great her life has been and how at 67 years old, she and her husband stay active and enjoy their life. Then she asked me my age and I told her. Next she said that she has a son my age. She said that unfortunately, he suffers from schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease and can’t do a lot of the things he hoped he would do with his life. Next she hit me with one of the most touching and impactful things anyone has ever said to me. She said that, “Looking and watching you, reminds me of what my son could have been. I see you and think, what if my son could live a normal life…he would probably be just like you.” She continued by saying, “That is why I push you so hard. You seem like such a bright, professional and personable young man. You have the world at your fingertips. I want you to do and be all the things that my son can’t.”
Life will never be the same again
It is amazing how you can learn from and benefit from the thoughts and wisdom of others if you are an open minded person and allow yourself to “be affected” by life. Needless to say, I was deeply affected by my conversation with Gina. I can’t think of very many compliments that are as great as telling someone that they remind you of their son or in this case, what their son could have been. I will never forget Gina’s words to me and I will use them to continue to improve and better my life. I am not a negative person or a complainer in general, but during those moments when I find myself going down the glass half-full route, I will remember Gina’s words. There is so much opportunity and life to experience…enjoy your life, live in the moment, be appreciative for what you do have and not overly focused on what you don’t have. When you think that your life is bad or not going in the right direction, remember that you can do something about it, you do have control unlike others that don’t such as Gina’s son or the soldiers in Iraq or the people of Haiti. Take full advantage of your life while you can. When you think about how difficult your life is, just remember all those whose life is really tough and as Gina would say, keep going, push it, you can do it.
Now it’s time to tell your story
As you look back at your life, can you think of any Gina types of people you have spoken to? If so, please share what you learned or should have learned from those discussions.
To Your Story!
Ja Marr