MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - When life throws you a curveball

Hello runner friends! 

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series 

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog. Now let's get started by talking about how catching life's curveballs and throwing them back with grace can keep you motivated to keep pressing on to the finish line.

 So what exactly is a curveball you might ask? Well baseball defines it as a throw in which the ball curves as it moves toward the player with the bat. But life defines it as an event that is surprising or unexpected, and therefore difficult to deal with.

And if it wasn't COVID-19 that threw you a curveball recently, it was something else. It always is because life rarely goes as expected. But guess what? The grace that we show ourselves and others when these unexpected events come at us - sometimes at breakneck speed - will make us better humans and better runners. Why? Because consistently practicing courteous goodwill towards ourselves and those around us is a learned habit developed by staying calm, considerate and polite when those wayward balls smack us right in the noggin.

So at this point you might be wondering what inspired me to talk about curveballs. Well let me tell you about my friend and fellow ultrarunner, Brad Dains. This guy never seems to let anything get him down. He is the father of four beautiful children and the husband of a very patient wife. On May 27th, Brad posted the following on Facebook, "When you wake up to water covering your basement from a totally different reason than you’ve had in the past...how early is “too early” to start drinking?...asking for a friend..." 

But 12 hours later he posted, "After spending most of the day cleaning a flooded basement we just needed a family ride. On a side note...if anyone is looking for some ‘slightly used’ & ‘slightly damp’ carpet and pad I have some on my driveway." How's that for taking a curveball and throwing it back with grace? Brad later enjoyed a nice dinner and bike ride with his family because he made the choice to handle this unexpected event with thoughtfulness, tact and civility.

So here's where it gets good. I was so inspired by his attitude that I reached out to him wanting to know more... wanting to know how and why he chose (and it is most definitely a choice) to take this curveball to the face and throw it back with grace and this is what he said...

OK. Here we go... Life has a way of throwing curveballs. This morning, I woke up to a basement full of water. For people that have known me for an extended period of time, we've had some water issues in the past. Leaking pipe at our old house, blocked up water softener, an entire basement flooded by sewer water, etc. We've had a lot. Last fall, when our basement flooded with sewer water, we found out some issues with the way in which our house was built that our city managers didn't even know about. Although the stench filled our house for several days, we took time to laugh. Sure, we were pretty upset when it filled with sewer water the first time. We didn't know what was going on and that's the frustrating part. We've built these "homes" where we are supposed to feel safe, but as you're scooping water by the bucket load out of your house you feel vulnerable. The 2nd and 3rd time it flooded within 10 hours, we realized something was seriously wrong, but we knew there had to be a solution. God put the right people in our paths at this point to know that it was going to get fixed, but we had to have faith. Yesterday, as I saw the geyser of rainwater coming out of my sump well, I did get angry...for a moment...but I remembered that I'd done this before. I knew what to do. I knew who to call. I remembered to just have faith. To laugh off the situation as another moment in time that my kids will remember. Another opportunity to teach my kids that life is going to throw things at you that suck. Life is going to have a way of testing your mental and physical in a way you didn't think was possible. But sometimes you just have to look at the situation, find a funny video on Youtube of an "as seen on TV" product that guarantees to waterproof a swamp boat made from window screens, tell your daughter you're just going to cover the entire basement in this "paint" and make a pool in the basement to just cut the tension. Life is hard. We are all going to have basements flooded with water. I was fortunate to have 38 years with my dad. As he sat on his death bed while cancer destroyed his body, he never stopped laughing. He was told that he was going to die and there was nothing that could be done...and he just continued to laugh. Sure, he was sad for a bit, but in this moment he taught me that life will never be bad enough that you can't find something to laugh about. Yesterday, I woke up with water flooding my basement and it was one of the funniest things I got the opportunity to experience that day.

So here are the two scenarios that could have played out. 

A. Bad Brad wakes up to a flooded basement. Bad Brad screams obscenities and throws a tantrum. Bad Brad's attitude upsets his family and they ignore him for the rest of the day. Bad Brad is left to fix the plumbing problem alone and sulks about the unfairness of his situation. Bad Brad wakes up the next morning feeling regret over the wasted opportunity to show kindness to his wife and children when it was most needed and bangs his head against a wall. Bad Brad has a horrible run. 

B. Good Brad wakes up to a flooded basement, gets upset for a moment and then begins to laugh knowing he can't do anything about what has already occurred. Good Brad calls the proper people and enlists help from his family in cleaning up. Good Brad keeps calm and speaks kindly to his wife and children, thereby setting the mood for the rest of the day. After the cleanup is successful, Good Brad has a fun outing with his family and wakes up grateful for the experience. Good Brad has a run so epic that he feels Morgan Freeman should have narrated it. 

So here's the deal with both scenarios... both Brads shared the same unexpected problem and had to choose how they would handle it. They both fixed the problem. But Good Brad came out ahead. And so did his family. 

 

Now if this story has left you scratching your head wondering what it could possibly have to do with being motivated to run, consider this. Anger makes us crappy runners. It's not only bad for our performance but it's bad for our health. Peace and joy, on the other hand, are the byproducts that come from extending grace to ourselves and to those around us and, while they might not make us any faster, they will make our  runs more enjoyable - thereby keeping us more motivated to press on. And guess what else? When you have a good attitude and are known for extending grace, people will want to join you! And having running buddies always motivates us to get out the door. It's no wonder then that one of the Bass Pro Marathon's hashtags (and my absolute favorite) is #runwithjoy. Joy is what helps us make it to the finish line. 

And on a final note, I hope you'll remember that life is short at best and always unpredictable. You and I may have 10,000 days left to live in this world or we might only have one. Knowing that, let us look at life as it truly is... temporary. Just like the curveballs this life throws at us. So be sure to throw them back as hard as you can, as quickly as you can, and with all the grace that you can so you will have absolutely no regrets. After all, doing so will not only make us better people but better runners.😊

Happy Running!!!

Ephesians 4:29

This grace