When we face challenges in life and those challenges get overwhelming how do we work through them and keep our focus. It can be hard to do when you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. There are times we want to surrender and give up, but we also understand that if we do that it will impact more than just ourselves. If it is a project at work, it will impact your team. If it’s your household finances, it will impact your family or if you’re a coach on a team, it could impact the outcome of the game. We all understand that but often things get so overwhelming that even though we know the consequences, we surrender. I have done that a few times in my life. It still crosses my mind sometimes to wave the white flag throw my hands in the air and walk away. What is it that keeps us moving forward. Is it the fear of failure or is it that we know what the outcome would be if we stopped.
I continue to learn so much from my three children. I watched them grow and move through life’s challenges much better than I did when I was their age. Today I am going to share with you what my son Anthony taught me about finding joy despite the pain. The lessons I learned from his cross-county track and field journey.
When Anthony told his mother and me that he was going to join the Curry College Cross-County Team, we were shocked. Anthony always told us how he disliked running, but he was determined to do it. I watched my son train hard all summer rain or shine night or day. He was training on his own, so he was his own motivator. These workouts were challenging but every day he did them. I knew he was invested and determined when he would get upset because he missed a daily goal. The amazing thing was that it made him work harder. He never gave up and that attitude is what makes him popular on his team.
Anthony has goals for himself in his first season of cross-country, and I have no doubt he would achieve them. We went to our first meet to see him run his first competitive 8K which is about 5 miles. He had to run two 2 1/2-mile loops with a hill, and his goal was to run under 50 minutes. As his mother and I watched runners go past us, you could see the pain and determination on their faces. We thought “oh boy” Anthony was probably struggling. Then we see him coming down the path. He was working but as he got closer, he was smiling. As he passed us, he says, “I love this I am having fun.” The coach is like Anthony, why are you smiling? You need to work harder. When he passed us to start the second loop, he was still smiling and he kept that smile all the way to the finish line and he ran for under 50 minutes. I am not saying that he faces every challenge like that, but what I am saying is that this was a moment that motivated me to try and look at my challenges differently.
I am going to do my best to look at challenges the Anthony way. Keeping may hope high as I work through the challenges of life. It is not a guarantee that I will succeed, but even in failures I can find joy because I never gave up.
Note to my children, Cassandra, Dakota, and Anthony; you are all my favorites. I am blessed to say yes, I am your father.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 