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Out of the Blocks


Years ago, I walked on to the University of Alaska Track and Field Team. I was athletic, but very raw and unpolished. While I very much enjoyed sprinting, my technique and form were lacking, and I had a lot of work ahead of me to get it up to par.

Especially in the early practices, I remember coaches working with me to eliminate unnecessary movement as I ran, particularly during the acceleration phase out of the blocks. My head and neck would bounce around, my arms had too much lateral motion which caused my hips to swivel and my torso to twist. Basically, there was a lot of extra motion in my running form that gobbled up precious energy and effort. As I began to eliminate the unnecessary and detrimental actions, more force and momentum was harnessed towards propelling me down the track and my times improved.

The same thing can happen as we travel down the path of life. We get hampered by busyness and aimless activity that saps our limited stores of energy and effort, slowing us down and wearing us out. While we may be putting forth a lot of exertion, it isn’t focused in the right areas and is getting us nowhere other than fatigued. Momentum and force that could be used to propel us forward is wasted on unnecessary movement that only holds us back.

There are a lot of hard-working people out there who aren’t getting where they want to be because they flail around in futile activities. Exertion and effort alone aren’t enough to propel you forward. You must harness focused intensity and eliminate unnecessary movement.

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