No Big Deal.

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“Good Things Come to Those Who Sweat.” – It’s the mantra I see painted on the wall every week at OrangeTheory, the gym where I have a membership.  Every single week I stare at that phrase as I am dripping sweat from the treadmill and rower exercises that they walk us through.  Every.Single.Week -it’s what I see, it’s always there, it’s always the same.

But not this week… This week, as I read this mantra, it hit me in a completely different way, and it made me wonder if good things really do come to those who sweat?  

According to my father and from all that I have learned from him over the years, he would argue that this phrase would in fact be all wrong.  But in order for you to understand why, I need to share a little bit about the amazing man who took part in raising me, the first man I ever looked up to, the first man who held my heart…my dad!

My father is truly one of a kind!  If I had to list off all of his best qualities, the list would never end.  So instead, I am going to share three of his traits that ended up impacting me the most throughout my life.

First off, my father is a retired Navy man who worked his way up to Master Chief before he retired.  His dedication to the Seabees taught me all about discipline and hard work.  It was ingrained in me and my siblings early on and still pushes us today to do well in life and to never give up.  

Secondly, my father is and always has been a very supportive man, and in our house, equality was important. He was the breadwinner, so to speak, but he still helped with cleaning, wash, cooking, and all of the rest.  As for us children, we didn’t have household jobs based on our “gender” roles or jobs that society expected us to have.  Instead, it was important in our family that everyone helped with everything.  And this way of life showed me that it doesn’t matter who you are or what the world thinks…just do what needs to be done…without complaining, of course!  

And finally, the last trait that took me too many years to learn (actually I am still learning) is the one that is most important to share with you today.  My dad has a personality that allows him to just go with the flow of life no matter how much it differs from where we expect it to go.  He just never gets worked up about some of those small setbacks that come up along the way.   

Let me share some examples:

When he broke his pinky and it never healed correctly leaving it stick out from the rest of his fingers, he told the doctor to just cut it off, no big deal.  (So they did!)  When there is drama or arguments, his belief is to not worry about it because this too will pass, no big deal. (And it always does!)  When scary health issues are potentially popping up in life, he always reminds us to not worry until we have to.  To not stress about something that isn’t even a reality yet, it’s no big deal right now.  (And it really isn’t in that moment!)  

He just is this way…he has always been this way.  And I admire him for it.  What I wouldn’t give to carry with me some of that attitude in my own life!

So this week when I read this phrase on my gym wall: “Good Things Come to Those Who Sweat,” I suddenly realized what my Dad has been trying to teach us all along.  And here is what he would say to those words; “Sweating?  Maybe in the gym, yes…but surely not in life.”  Because he has always taught me one very important lesson that I hope to teach you today.  By leading through example, he taught me to “not sweat the small stuff”.  To leave that workout for our body in the gym and to be sure to never unnecessarily overwork our mind.  To be a warrior in life, not a worrier.  To save our energy and uncertainties for those really big and important things that may come up in the future.  To let go of the small things, and stop dwelling on those insignificant parts of the journey that are out of our control.

So going forward, every single week as I hit the gym and see those famous words painted on the wall, those words of “Good Things Come to Those Who Sweat”, I am not going to think about how much of a workout my body is getting in that moment.  Instead, I am going to use those words as a reminder to check myself and make sure my mind is getting the right kind of workout too.  I am going to make sure that it is not sweating too much…especially over those small things that tend to happen in life.  Because truthfully, when we think about all that we have been through and all that we have yet to travel, my dad really is right.  Usually those things we are sweating about really end up being no big deal.   

In the grand scheme of life, they end up being no big deal at all.

Xoxo   

Marsha

  *For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com.  Let’s work together to Be Our Best Selves!

Photo Credit   Photo by RODNAE Productions: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-black-ceramic-mug-8342299/