A few weeks ago I decided to sign up for boxing classes. I felt I needed to punch some things out of my system and of course lose some weight. The first day was tough, learning the basics of boxing, however the coach was really patient with me, “when I say upper cut, you raise your fist and punch up” Okay I got it!
In no time I understood the terms and was serving blow after blow, uppercuts, jabs, hooks, slugger, switch-hitter… okay, I think you get it! I was graduating into a (Pro boxer) Well if you don’t consider that I needed a second after every punch to catch my breath and sit down LoL!
One morning during my session I was asked to continuously hit the punch bag until my coach decided when I had to stop. I started with a lot of energy, punching the bag so hard I felt good about myself. “Faster” he yelled! I complied
After a few minutes my punches got weaker and slower, my arms felt heavy and my vision becoming a bit blurry. Every breath I took sounded like an old tired train. I heard another loud instruction “Don’t massage my bag…punch harder!” Desperate to put an end to my suffering I decided to give it my best shot. I took a step back and closed my eyes, gathering all the energy in me I punched the bag, two jabs in and I could hear a swoosh sound as it swung away. Next I heard was “Duck!” and the next thing I was on the floor and the whole room erupted in laughter.
The bag has quickly swung bag and knocked me to the floor.
I laid there for the rest of my session and refused to get up hahaha
Whilst laying there, I thought of my coaches words “Don’t massage the bag” And I thought It was a profound reflection on how we respond to a lot of things in life. We start strong and somewhere in our journey we give in and slow down, instead of punching through we start massaging the various problems we face. It’s no secret that success is a result of undeterred determination and perseverance. Often it is tenacity, not talent that rules the day
My 3 Key takaways
Don’t Give Up
You have a goal, you have a great vision for your life don’t let anything get in the way of you achieving your dreams. Everything in you might want to give up and crawl into a dark corner.. Don’t!.. punch on. You’re almost there and will reap the rewards of your efforts. Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
Keep your eyes open
Don’t learn the hard way like I did. Often we are naïve to the fact that things can go wrong even when we are doing our best. Stay alert and anticipate to duck when things do go wrong.
Rise
You will get knocked down a few times, it is up to you to get up or stay on the ground. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Les Brown has this to say about getting back up “If life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. And if you get up, you can stand up. And if you stand up, you can fight for your dream once again. You have something special. You have GREATNESS within you!”
Yours… Knocked many times but getting back up!!
Enkromelle Andrew