Yes, you can!

Yes, you can!

When you think we can’t go further, you can.

At the end of September my godson Gabe asked if I would participate in a pushup challenge.  When he asked me to join him and others on this challenge he created, I hesitated. I knew I could do 10 full pushups, maybe even 20, but I hadn’t done more than 50 in one day before. 

The challenge was to add a “0” to the date. October 1 we did 10 pushups, October 2 we doubled it to 20, and so on until the final day the goal was 310 pushups.  I told Gabe I didn’t know if I could do 310. He replied “You don’t need to do 310 today, you only need to do 10 on day 1. Can you do 10?”  I said I could and I reluctantly committed to the challenge.

The first few days were fairly easy. I did all of my pushups in one sitting, or I split them up with short breaks in between each set. After the first few days, the initial soreness went away and I could feel myself getting stronger and becoming more confident. 

As the daily challenge grew larger, I had to strategize. I started to mix up the pushups - wide, narrow, inclined, and modified, also.  I also had to spread them out throughout the day in order to get them all in before my energy was depleted.  

I started to notice that I had more energy in the morning so I would do 50 while I waited for my morning cups of coffee to finish. I promised myself at the beginning that I would not get hurt or to give up. This required me to strategize daily and then execute well.

We had a Facebook group where we recorded our daily challenge, we supported one another and shared how we felt daily. This community helped me to stay accountable, and also allowed me to encourage others when they needed support. 

Yesterday, I finished the pushup challenge having completed 310 pushups on the final day. I didn’t know if I could/would finish physically or mentally. Yet, I did without any injuries.

I realized early on that this challenge was going to be an example of how to tackle any large project, new endeavor, or really anything that scared me.  

Lessons learned:

• Sometimes we stop ourselves from saying “yes” to new challenges because the end goal seems too big, too hard, or too complicated.

• We may say “no” because we aren’t sure how or if we can finish. We allow our fears to convince us to not even try.

• What we worry about may not be the true challenge. I was worried about my strength, my endurance, and the threat of potential injuries before I accepted this challenge. I discovered that the greatest challenge was strategizing daily and then executing to the plan.

• When we think we can’t go further, we can. A strong mindset is critical.

• Completing something you didn’t think you could do is the fuel to propel you forward to greater heights.

I have said “no” to things in my life because I allowed fear to hold me back. However, this challenge reminded me that all goals begin with one step and one action in the right direction.   If you have put a goal off because you don’t know if and how you’ll accomplish it, I hope that my experience encourages you to say “yes”.