As I stumbled into the gym the other morning my trainer had an extra evil gleam in his eye. “Today,” he said, “we’re going outside and you’re going over The Wall.”
[blinking] “Ummm…. Me? The Wall?” (The Wall has no handles, no ropes, no steps.)
“Yes, you.” Then he threw a heavy sandbag on my shoulders and said, “Let’s go.”
Once we got outside (and I realized that there was going to be no negotiating the content of my workout that day), we began Project: Get Kristen’s Ass Over Wall.
Phase 1: WTF?
I stood at the bottom of the wall looking up, jumped …….and completely, totally, miserably missed the top of the wall.
(He was trying not to laugh.) “You’re going to have to get a running start.”
Oh.
Phase 2: Now I’m Pissed
I moved back several feet, put on my game face, and ran right for the wall. 
[***SMACK***] Oh god. My face, knees, ribcage, hands, and elbows all crashed into the wall at once. Hard. (He was openly laughing at this point.) I’m glad it was a pretty solid wall, otherwise I’d have left a Kristen-shaped hole in it.
My goal of grabbing the top was unsuccessful. And my goal of NOT looking like an idiot was also unsuccessful.
^^After repeating THAT about four more times I was really pissed. I kicked the wall. I threw rocks. I swore. I tried to run away. I’m very mature when I get angry.
Phase 3: Nope, I’m done. I hate this. F U.
My annoying patient trainer didn’t let me leave though. “Where are you going? Come on, you’re gonna do this.”
This time I made it ONTO THE ACTUAL WALL! I hung out there for a while, wishing I had better Spidey-moves. There was a lot of leg-kicking, struggling, grunting, squealing, cursing….. Thennnnn my hands slipped. So I was back on the ground. And still mad.
“Again,” he said.
F’in A. This time I turned it into laser-focus. It was like an Eye of the Tiger moment. Almost anticlimactically, I got up and over rather easily. BAM.
I hopped down the other side feeling as though I probably should receive some sort of trophy or something.
“Good work. Now pick up your sandbag. Let’s go flip some tires.”
Ok then.
Well, when you crash into a wall, of COURSE you have to blog about it.
So many takeaways, right? The “walls” life presents are endless. Fat loss, getting out of debt, starting a business, fixing (or dropping) a relationship, conquering an addiction, changing your attitude, and on and on and on.
Overcoming an actual wall reminded me of some key points that are useful when overcoming any wall.
1) If you don’t know how to start (i.e. standing there asking “WTF?”), you can find experts, coaches, or trainers full of solid advice who will get you going in the right direction.
2) It’s probably not gonna happen on the first try. Or second, or third. It might be the 17th, or 99th. Every single attempt is important, because you are learning and getting stronger each time. KEEP TRYING. Resiliency, not talent or smarts, is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. By the final attempt, it will probably seem easy.
3) You WILL hit a wall/crash and burn/fall on your ass. It helps to have people around you who believe you are capable and encourage you to try again.
4) Getting angry and throwing rocks is not useful. Re-directing that anger into purposeful energy is very useful.
5) Once you achieve your goal, celebrate. But then carry on to the next goal.
So, yeah. My Wall adventure gave me some bruises. But those heal. And with them comes a great deal of pride in my accomplishment. That’s the way life works, right? ❤️
Related Posts:
Ain’t Nobody Gonna Do It For You
There’s A Reason Behind Your Rhyme (What You Can Learn by Observing Yourself)
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