Last week, Jen and I took our girls down to the beach. It was too cold to get in the water, but that didn’t stop them. I’ve never seen them run faster than when they’re headed for the water’s edge. They promise us they won’t get too wet, but you know how that works out. Without fail and despite my threats to not rescue them if they get in too deep, I inevitably end up completely soaked from the waist down.
She’s four now, but Jalen has always loved to chase the birds on the beach. If I’m quiet and still, I can picture her in a soggy diaper, barely able to walk, but somehow able to run after them. She’d chase them – they’d fly away – she’d crack up and try again. She’d have done this for miles in the freezing cold if we would have let her.
The four of us were walking along the shore, some of us chasing birds, when I noticed it. A tiny, little rock had found its way into my shoe and made a home right at the ball of my foot. Each time I took a step, it felt like a thumb tack digging into me. I told myself to buck up – it was just a little rock…and I kept going. The more I ignored it, the more I got used to it being there.
Emmy called out to me from up ahead. “Come get me, Daddy!” I took off after her, ready to show her who’s boss. But it obviously wasn’t me. Turns out…
You can’t run with a rock in your shoe. You can try, but you won’t get very far.
It stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn’t believe something so small could be so powerful, but it was. And this week, I’ve found myself thinking back to how and why. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
I ignored my problem.
I tried to pretend it wasn’t there. I tried to move forward without dealing with it first – and that worked fine as long as I was content to merely walk. But the moment I tried to spring ahead, the rock revealed its power. It used my own force against me. The harder I ran, the more I felt its sting. Before long, the payoff wasn’t worth the pain – and I stopped. As long as that rock was in my shoe, running wasn’t an option.
I wondered where else that was showing up in my life, so I asked myself –
What’s hindering me from getting where I wanna go?
What have I been ignoring, fooling myself into thinking it’s too small to affect me?
What is the rock in my shoe?
Thinking it through, I was able to name some things that have held me back for years, and others that have held me back for days. But here’s what I realized. It all matters. We give our power away to anything we choose to ignore. And that choice could be what keeps us walking slowly or standing still.
What is the thing that’s holding you back from running at full speed?
You can keep pretending it’s not there.
You can accept its limits on how fast and how far you can go.
Or you can deal with it and get to running.
What will you do with the rock in your shoe?
This Post Has 15 Comments
Comments are closed.
I love the way you’ve taken a seemingly simple, everyday situation and used it to stimulate questions about how we’re living our lives and what could be doing when we’re finding something difficult. Thank you, it’s an example I’ll remember.
To me, the seemingly simple moments that feel like they could happen ANY day are often the ones that are filled with wisdom and encouragement if you look for it. Moments like this are usually the ones that truly point me where I’m supposed to be going. The key for me has been to listening and looking for the lesson. It’s simple, but true. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
Wow Chance….just WOW!! Makes me think of the commercial, when someone slaps someone…and the respond with, “Thanks! I needed that”! Don’t remember who the commercial was for though! So…..I say to you!! Thanks!! I needed that!!
:-)
:) Skin Bracer! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB8ucoNek2g
Wow!!! You found it!!! And…it was John Goodman?!?!! I never would have remembered that!! Thank you!!
I’m here to serve… ;)
I look forward to your posts…I have been waiting for a new one for a long time.
Thanks, Kathy. I love writing them and so appreciate you reading. I’ve been traveling with little “me” time, so I had to skip last week. New one posting tomorrow. :)
Chance, your have that ability to make people think about things they weren’t aware of before. After reading this post I spent the whole day thinking of what my rock in the shoe might be. It led me to some surprising discoveries. Thanks a million for writing such an insightful post.
Love this Chance. Keep writing it was clear, simple and great for a mentoring group I am leading right now. I will share this with them tomorrow night! Thanks.
Chance: come to think of it, I seem to have a ‘few’ rocks in my shoe.
And some day, I pray, I will get smart enough to take off my shoe, dump out the rocks, and start running.
Thanks for the well-written post.
I appreciate you!
Looooove this, Chance! Great way of explaining a problem we all face. A major Maaaack to you :-)
ROBERT!! Thanks so much – it means so much to me that you take the time to read these posts. Thank you for your constant encouragement and support. A major Maaack back to YOU!
This is just lovely. Thank you.
The word “lovely” here is really sweet to me. Thank YOU, Sheryl.