The Big Three: We’re all imperfect

The world can be a crazy place. Some times it helps to step back, close your eyes, and list out a few of the things you’re grateful for. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, January 26 – February 1:

What I’m grateful for:

—Courageous enough to be imperfect. I wrote something the other day for work and it went over like a lead balloon. First, a key leader made a face when I showed it to her. And then a peer had the gall to poke holes in it too. Oh, how dare them.

Now most days I’m fine with feedback. I would say I thrive on it. I thirst for it. On this day, I wanted no parts of it. I just wanted to finish the darned piece and send it out. I slowed down and went back and really looked at my piece. I realized my writing wasn’t as clear as it should have been.

There wasn’t a lot of confidence in my words. I wasn’t very strong in my convictions. The language bordered on being mealy-mouthed.

Once I cleaned up the piece, I couldn’t help but think of Brené Brown’s quote: “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”

I fight it, but I’m imperfect. I make mistakes. And that’s okay.

—A return to When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan may have gotten older, but I still find them to be a riot. I’m grateful for silly laughter. And yes, I’ll have what she’s having.

—Cheering on your teammate. Last week the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL team I root for, beat the Washington Commanders for the right to play in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Saquon Barkley who led the Eagles this year had a great game. He ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns. He was happy about his success. But, I have to say it was even more uplifting to see his response to his replacement, Will Shipley, scoring his first NFL touchdown in the waning minutes of the game. Barkley raced down the sidelines to cheer on Shipley and celebrate his success.

Now that’s a great teammate. It made me grateful for the teammates in my life.

What gave me a smile?

As a kid we all read about Aesop’s Fables. It’s fun to see the tales we loved as kids sometimes take shape in real life.

Here’s one. I found a real life version of the tortoise and the hare.

In 1983, a 61-years-old Australian runner named Cliff Young came out of nowhere to win one of the world’s toughest ultramarathons, a 544-mile race from Sydney to Melbourne. He beat out elite competition from around the world. When he arrived at the start of the race, Young showed up in overalls and work boots. He ultimately ran the race in a new pair of running shoes that someone gave him, but it goes to explain his level of training.

Young ran at a slow and loping pace. At the end of the first day, he trailed the pack by a large margin. Most of the competitors stopped to sleep for six hours. Young, however, ran through the night and gained the lead. He held on for the next four days and beat the nearest competitor by 10 hours. In post-race interviews, he told the media he didn’t even know that competitors were allowed to stop for sleep.

Before running the race, he had told the press that he often ran for two to three days without sleep, rounding up sheep and other animals on his farm. When the race was over, he told the press that he imagined he was running after sheep trying to outrun a storm.

The ultramarathon run took him five days, fifteen hours and four minutes, almost two days faster than the record for a run between Sydney and Melbourne. When he received the A$10,000 prize money, he said he didn’t even know there was a prize. He decided to share it with the five next runners.

Oh yes, a real life tortoise!