Overcoming Life's Hurdles
Athletics is not my strong suit; never has been. In the past few years, however, I have helped out in high jump, hurdles and throws and I have gained a far greater appreciation for the grit and grace required to perform in these disciplines.
Last year, I helped out in a very minor way with the hurdles. Now I know very little about hurdling, but I have come to appreciate a few things about this art, and the way that people approach the hurdles has many clear links to how we approach obstacles in life. It is, in a sense, the perfect – albeit obvious – metaphor.
If you have ever seen hurdles done well, you will know what a graceful, seemingly effortless, thing it is. The hurdler's head stays inscrutably level, always fixed on the horizon. They are sure of the number of steps before the first hurdle (eight of them, in an ideal world). They sail across the first hurdle and are already into full stride as they head towards the next. There are three strides between each hurdle and, with each one, the leading leg is thrust forwards towards the hurdle – almost demanding that the rest of the body follows it. The back leg trails and, like the front leg, goes over the hurdle by the barest of margins. Less energy is expended, less time is wasted. The front leg is already driving down to the ground and preparing to propel the individual toward the next hurdle as the back leg lifts over the hurdle. A good hurdler is the epitome of efficiency.
If you have seen hurdles done by someone who is, shall we say, a novice, you will also know the excruciating anticipation involved in watching them. They labour their way up to the first hurdle, stutter in their approach, slow right down, then jump as high as they can to avoid contact. Then, as they land, some of them even look behind them, thoroughly grateful yet mystified as to how they managed to overcome that first obstacle. And then they stagger towards the next hurdle, no rhythm, no real momentum and no real plan as to how to they will get over this one, either.
The reason that good hurdlers are good hurdlers lies in their preparation and training. They warm up properly, with drills specific to the task before them. They start with little hurdles and work on getting warmed up and ensuring that their technique is correct, building their way up to a full-sized hurdle. They practice their starts and the taking of that first hurdle. They don't often run the whole race, because once you get over that first hurdle and you fall into the rhythm, the others are so much easier to take.
The issue for us non-hurdlers is that we don't do it very often and so that first hurdle seems huge. Our minds focus on not hitting our foot on the top of the hurdle, rather than getting to the end; we break the task into such small bits that it does not flow, or we have no real plan about how to put it all together so we focus on the mechanics of jumping, which is such a tiring approach.
That's the big difference between good hurdlers are the rest of us: a good hurdler is focused on counting their steps and they are focused on the finish line, whereas the rest of us are focused on the potential disaster (and considerable pain) of making contact with each hurdle.
And so it is with life. Those of us who prepare well, who hit the occasional hurdle but who know how to get back up or who know how to recover in time for the next hurdle, are the ones who tend to get through in good shape. The more we practice with small hurdles, the better prepared we are and the better we are at overcoming larger ones. When we have a plan for how to approach these hurdles, we feel a certain level of confidence that this plan and our training will enable us to get over them. And there is the satisfaction of getting to the end in good shape, rather than relief at the race being over.
Telethon Kids Institute Research
From time to time, we work with TKI on a variety of projects. We have worked with them regarding bullying and we have another opportunity to do so. They are looking for two student and two parent volunteers to take part in a 35– 40-minute i nterview. The students need to be in Years 4 to 6. The parents do not need to be related to the student – so if you would like to be involved but your son does not – or vice versa – that would be fine. If you are interested in taking part, please email me at James.Hindle@scotch.wa.edu.au
SchoolTV
Just a reminder that we subscribe to this online parent information platform which covers topics affecting young people. There is plenty of easy-to-access information here on a variety of topics.
Three of my favourite topics are: