COACH YOU BLOG

Proud? “Hah, Grasshopper!”
29/4/2013

 

Pride is supposed to be a sin … and that always confused me as a child. On the one hand my parents kept banging on about “making the best of yourself”, “head up, shoulders back” and those who know me will recognise I took that seriously (I’m nearly 5’11” and always in heels!)

… and on the other hand Pride is one of the 7 Deadly Sins. Now, I wrote and directed a production in Canada called The Seven Deadly Sins, so I kind of know what Pride is officially. (See how my showy-offy Pride Gremlin poked his head up there!) It wasn’t until this week that I realised how Pride can become a Gremlin … a self-limiting belief.

It was whilst rowing in the Eight this Saturday that I realised how far I’d come. The crew were made up with a seasoned rower, some who’d been rowing much longer than me and a couple of real novices. As we’d been working on technique to support the novices I was feeling quite proud of myself for having come so far in only twelve months. It was then that the cox stopped the boat…

And singled me out to improve my technique. I could have allowed my pride to get in the way: chosen to have been humiliated, chosen to throw my toys out of the pram and chosen to chuck it all in.

The whole crew had to hold the boat up whilst I practiced this technique and I cracked it. I was SO pleased and my rowing subsequently improved. I recognised in that moment that my passion for rowing had superseded my pride.

It would have been so easy for me to give up in that moment and indeed many times in the past twelve months … taking a freezing dip on my third ever rowing lesson in March last year, being snowed on, rained on, back aching, blistered hands and my husband barracking me to “sit up straight, relax your grip, pull in your core”. (Most of the club are flabbergasted by my refusal to bite back!)

But I would have missed out on the joy of being on the water, in nature, constantly challenging myself to do better and the fitness that results. I would have let my pride gremlin stop me growing as a person.

We are all faced with learning new things every day … with social media advancing by the minute it’s a constant struggle to keep up to date. There’s a Buddist saying that “when the student is ready the teacher will appear”. So whatever new challenge you are facing today strap on your “Grasshopper” mindset and look for the person who will guide you.

Have a Good One!