“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
Pablo Picasso

Story of my life… and well everyone’s life because we all have started at 0 with every single thing we have learned to do or what we have accomplished. But, as adults we seem to forget about this and instead we use the fact that we don’t know how to do something as an excuse to not go after it.

In the past year I’ve looked back to my life and looked for clues about moments when I’ve given myself the opportunity to try new things without much hesitation. There is one particular memory that keeps coming back to me and teaching me about -once again- the power of our perspective. And to be honest this is exactly what this quote is about, there is nothing revolutionary about it. It is simply an empowering approach to life.

About 10 years ago I used to go for runs at the beach and I was always curious about this group of people that were working out together at the boardwalk. The class seemed very up my ally and fun so I looked up on Google something like “work out classes at the beach Hollywood, FL”. I spoke to the instructor, I scheduled my first class and I was really excited for the trial.

The day of my trial came and as I’m following the GPS I notice I’m not going to the beach. And in that moment I realize that I was not going to the same class I had seen at the beach. But, at that point I had confirmed with the instructor that I was going to make it so I kept driving to the class. When I arrived, I realized I had signed up to a CrossFit class. I had no idea what CrossFit was.

And, this is my biggest lesson of this memory. Had I known what CrossFit was I would had never signed up to it because in that moment of my life I didn’t believe I was capable of lifting a 5lb dumbbell. I assumed I would never like work outs like that because those were not the type of exercises I was accustomed to. But, the truth was… I simply didn’t even know what it was like to work out with weights and I was not even giving myself the opportunity to explore it because “I was not strong enough”. As if we didn’t actually get stronger by starting to work with light weights and making our way up. It’s so funny how our logic works sometimes.

To make this story even better I have to tell you this part… Even though I was sore for maybe 2 weeks after that first trial I went back because there was something about it that sparked a curiosity in me. I did Crossfit for about 4 or 5 years and that’s how I found a love for lifting weights. But, I didn’t only found that love…(can I make this even more cheesy?) I actually met my husband at this Crossfit gym.

So, what experience, opportunity or dream you may be sacrificing because of this idea that we are not adequate enough to do it? aren’t our whole lives about learning, trying and practicing so we get better and better at it every single time?

Love, Nat.