It’s the Little Things

“Enjoy the little things because one day you’ll look back and realize they are the big things.”  –Kurt Vonnegut

I think NP is all about the little things.  It’s the little moments of showing up, of connecting, of putting in the effort & working our asses off, of being seen today, hugged today, and verbaling to show up again–those moments that when we look back later, we realize are the big things.

On Saturday morning it was pouring rain–one of those mornings where you definitely pull the blankets back over your head and sleep a little longer.  But I had made plans with a friend to go run the stadium, and we did.  In the pouring rain.  As we splashed through the puddles at the bottom of each section, and as we looked out at the grey sky shadowing the wet, grey concrete stairs, I most definitely thought to myself two things.  First, “I would never be doing this alone.”  And second, “This is amazing.”

NP has taught me to show up.  In a different way than my college rowing teammates did.  I showed up to practice in college because I knew that my teammates couldn’t go out on the water if I missed practice.  And I showed up because I loved the training that made me feel strong, connected, and powerful.  But all that training was for the team–so that our team, which represented our school, could perform and race.  Showing up at NP has begun to teach me about showing up in life.  Beyond workouts and early mornings and rain, it reminds me that in life, we often have hard things to do that we probably don’t want to do.  Or we see others taking on challenges that we think we’re not good enough for.  But when we bring ourselves to the game, which is usually just a lot easier when you’ve got a tribe with you, those hard, undesirable, challenging, frustrating, and doubt-inducing things usually end up being those little moments (now) that later we realize are the big things.  Just like I realized in the stadium–I wouldn’t be crushing stairs up and down in the rain on a Saturday morning all on my own and enjoying every minute of it.  But showing up to face the obstacles and to embrace the opportunities –both in the stadium and in life– makes me more satisfied with who I am as a human being.  And that makes me a better athlete, a better friend, a better employee, and a better everything else too.

This morning it was chilly, but the sun came up and the tribe came out for #DestinationDeck.  It was one of those mornings where if you did a lot over the weekend, it’d be easy to pull the covers over your face and say…”I’ll go on Wednesday.” And honestly, it’s cool if you did that.  Rest days are good too and sleep is scientifically proven to be better for you than kale.  But today was one of those little moments too…

NP this morning taught me that running around the bases of a baseball diamond is still really fun as an adult.  And that as awkward as it is to announce out loud to everyone around you 10 times in a row, “I’M A STAR,” it’s still going to make a positive difference in how you perceive others today, how you perceive the world today, and maybe most importantly–how you perceive yourself today.  Also that burpees are hard and somersaults are funny and if you put them together, it might just be the perfect exercise. And that rolling dice is always interesting because you just don’t know what you’re going to get–and giant dice that bounce are weird and funny–so boom.  Little things, but they have the potential to make a big difference.

And finally, it’s no little thing when we finish a workout and find the news on our phones that another horrible act of violence occurred in the world–in our country.  It is NOT a little thing.  It’s a big thing that is sad and scary and confusing. And unfortunately, it can be polarizing and spur further anger and reactions from fellow human beings who are all trying to make sense of things.  This is the time to pay attention to the little things.  Right now we can act, in little ways, in the midst of challenge.  Keep being open.  Keep connecting.  Keep hugging & high-fiving.  Keep showing up for each other.  Keep using kindness as your most powerful tool.  Because when we look back, we will realize that these are the little things that really were the BIG things.

The tribe is strong.  Let’s keep changing the world.

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