Get Your Hands Off Your Knees

I was probably 13 or 14 when I had a camp basketball coach yell at me, "Never let anyone know that tired.  Never!  Get your hands off your knees!"  At first I was embarrassed and angry because he was calling me out, but he was trying to make me tougher.  The truth is that my hands were on my knees and I was letting everyone know that I was tired.  Eventually I realized that resting wasn't helping my cause, and if I wanted to win I needed to stop thinking about how tired I was and get my hands off my knees.

20 years later his voice still whispers to me when I feel weak or tired.  When I'm in the middle of a hard workout and I want to stop or rest to take an extra breath or when I feel like putting off a work/school assignment until later I hear, "get your hands off your knees!"  When I am on a long run and want to stop or walk before I reach the finish line I hear, "Never let anyone know you're tired."

When life is making you tired remember what my coach told to me years ago, and apply it to your own life.  When you want to stop mid-workout to get a drink of water, don't.  When the barbell gets heavy, don't put your hands on your knees!  Take a deep breath and pick the damn thing back up, and show it who's in control.  When your job becomes overwhelming and you feel unappreciated, don't let them see you sweat.  Keep a cool head and keep doing your job. 

I'm finding that as I grow older, this statement resonates with me more and more.  It is so easy to find excuses to slow down or even quit when a situation becomes tiresome.  It's easy to complain about how exhausted I am or how difficult a particular task is to anybody that will listen.  In my opinion, complaining is equivalent to putting my hands on my knees and letting the world know that I'm tired.  I used to pride myself in the fact that no one knew I was tired on the basketball court, and I still try to uphold this principle in adult life whether it involves work, school, or the gym.  I challenge you to take my coaches advice and apply it to your life.  Who knows, it might help.