UP FRONT ANNOUNCEMENTS: Monday Destination Deck is at Magazine beach, on the Cambridge side of the river.
The voices of the human beings who make up this tribe are valuable sources of wisdom, inspiration, humor, perspective, and metaphors. The bright, colorful young (old) soul who wrote the guest post today has all of these things. Her words message is clear, and a good one to reflect on today. We don’t always know what comes next, or all of what life’s journey will hold, but we always know the tribe has our back. It’s one tribe, here in Boston all the way across the ocean to Amsterdam and elsewhere. Today, we hear more about this from our very own #positivityaward winning Emma van Emmerik.
I’ve been told I speak in metaphors a lot and have a tendency to fuck them up so I’ll do my best here to stay succinct and coherent.
There are a few keywords that constantly find t hemselves in the same sentence as “November Project”. This list includes but is not limited to; hugs, fitness, community, motivation, acceptance, and the one that is speaking to me strongest of all right now: Accountability.
Aiming for one metaphor here, inspired by a good friend. A few months ago I was in a damn stable tree-pose in my life. I was pretty proud of getting myself to stand so strongly, but found myself putting my foot down to find support when an external locus set me off-balance. That source of support? Accountability.
In the context of NP, “accountability” holds a variety of meanings. First and foremost, it insinuates a connection to others. It means you can’t miss your alarm because you will leave your buddy hanging at the BU bridge to run to the end of the world (Seaport) alone for Destination Deck. It means you motivate a fellow tribe member to stick with you and dig deeper up Summit Ave so they shave seconds off their PR. Accountability means you are needed by others.
Accountability also means self-discovery. Every time we #justshowup we hold ourselves accountable to exploring our capabilities by covering new distances, increasing our speed, and challenging our bodies to cultivate new, undiscovered strengths. Our man Billy Hafferty wrote an awesome piece recently about what drives us to new heights. It’s human nature to set out on quests to see what we can do, and to find out how we will react to the unknown and persevere. Can I run 5k? Can I run a marathon in under 3:15? Can I start a grassroots worldwide movement? Can I do 10,000 push-ups this year? Can I flip a house? Can I start a successful company? Can I run 50 miles? Sure, we can see a lot of uglies along the way, but tackling challenges to see what is on the other side is how we discover cool shit and what makes human beings the most sophisticated species on the planet.
Ultimately we are the drivers of our own journeys, but the fuel they run on is social support. It is humbling to be a part of a community that instills motivation in so many individuals to chase after the multi-faceted goals in their lives, and fosters inter-dependency and support as we learn a lot about ourselves during the course of the wild rides.
Right now, accountability through NP has been the support my tree-pose needed. It wasn’t difficult to land on a strong foundation again when I am needed by others, and when I am motivated to explore my capabilities. I am super damn appreciative to be a part of this worldwide spider-web of social support. I capitalized on using its strength to regain my internal locus, and am setting out on a quest I have been itching to go on for years.
My senior year of college one of my housemates had her car stolen. While dealing with all the bullshit that comes with reporting a stolen vehicle/getting a new one, her mother said a quote that for us has been applied to so many subsequent life road bumps that launch you to awesome new opportunities: “Car got stolen? Kinda fun.”
As of August 2nd I will not have a home address, I am selling my car, and TBD what I am launching to.
But I do have a one-way ticket to Amsterdam and my running shoes.
Kinda fun.
Love,
Emma
