At least that's what Cesar Chavez tells me. So maybe he wasn't talking to me but it's still advice worth taking. There are always things in life that we think are physically, mentally, or genetically impossible - a lost cause. I'm sure some people are more prone to this thought pattern than others, and I'll admit I've been known to say I can't do something more than once. Sometimes I just insist that I choose not to do something (let's say, run) because what I'm really afraid of is not being able do it.
What I'm learning is that we don't have to stick to those boundaries we (or others) set, no matter how crazy they seem. As it turns out, I can run. Even if I am slow at achieving the final "impossible" goal, or don't quite make it there, at least I have made progress toward it.
I see the same woman walking around the trail Memorial Park lately. She would be classified as morbidly obese and limps a little bit as she walks while her face shows her discomfort too. This loop is 3 miles long and I've gone on long enough runs while we're both there to know that she goes all of the way around. She just keeps going one small step at a time. Every time we pass I think about how courageous she is to do this despite how hard it is. If my run went awry, I would always have the option to finish by walking without too much difficulty. She doesn't have that safety net. She puts herself out there and focuses on herself with hundreds of the city's fittest people running circles around her. As I pass all of them, she's the one I admire most. I contemplate stopping to tell her this sometimes, but my own fear that she'll think I'm strange or even be offended stops me.
Let this be a reminder that you most likely can do whatever it is that you think you can't. You just have to decide how badly you want it and give it a try.
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