A Lesson About Success From Parkhour. #UsFatGirls
My son does parkhour. Have you ever heard of it? It’s kind of like junk/tricking gymnastics and can be done anywhere: a park, off the side of a building, from a tree, etc. Sometimes is also called “free running”. My son loves it. He’s a former gymnast that burned out and quickly out grew his body with multiple growth spurts. With parkhour he can fulfill his tumbling passion without all of the pressure and perfection. And honestly, parkhour is just flat-out cool.
As he trains 2 hours a week, I’ve watched and learned something profound I want to share with all of you.
Success is a ratio of 100+ failures to 1 success.
As I watch these guys train I wonder why they don’t give up??!!
As they try to learn a new stunt, this is the process:
Instructor does a show and tell. Shows a new trick and then explains how it’s accomplished. He clearly shows what success looks like and asks them to do it as well. Then they . . . . . . .
Try, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail
Almost get it but not quite,
Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail,
Almost,
Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail,
Kind of got it,
Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail,
Got it once pretty much,
Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, tired, so tired and want to give up,
Got it – celebration!!
Fail, fail, fail, fail
Got it,
Fail, fail,
Got it,
Got it,
Got it!!!!!!!!!
Can do it now!!!! = Success
The process to succeed at any new trick equals weeks of failure.
As they try something new and extremely difficult they get mad and frustrated and punch things until they can get it. The only route for them to succeed is to fail over and over again at the very thing they are trying to do. Each failure allows them to tweak their body into a correction. As their coaches watch and see what they are doing wrong they can help see and communicate to them what is preventing them from success. The only way to success is having someone continue to point out what needs to be corrected. Someone trying to reach a new goal as to be teachable and willing and open to hear what they are doing wrong so that correction can be shifted to reach the goal. It’s uncomfortable and doesn’t feel natural at first. But once corrections are made, they CAN reach their goal. The coach isn’t being critical but rather trying to help them succeed.
The process is messy and painful. My son breaks or sprains something at least once a month (mostly toes). He is so passionate about succeeding he accepts the pain as part of the process.
He comes home sweaty and stinky, and covered in this nasty debris he picks up from landing in the foam pit over and over again. When they are learning a new trick and wipe up – their failures are brutal. They land in a total collapsed position or on their face. There is no glamor in the process. All these extreme wipe outs are the path to success.
Many people only see the final product. They get to see cool, tricked-out moves over park benches and off of buildings. By the time those stunts are established there have been hours of failures. The success was in the process. Success was a small final prize compared to the months of failure to get there. But once success is established and all corrections have been made, they can repeat it over and over again. Muscle memory and all of those months of doing it wrong have produced the ability to instantly produce the correct action now repeatedly. It took months of failures to get them strong enough to do it right.
How big are your goals? Does it feel like they are taking too long to happen? Are you discouraged? Angry? Punching things in what feels like the daily failures preventing your goal?? That IS the process toward success. A million failures is how you get to the goal! Those failures are teaching you and correcting you and making you strong so you can do what you’ve never been able to do before.
Yes, it can be messy and discouraging. Yes, it feels like you won’t get there. Yes, it feels like it’s taking forever. You CAN do it! Don’t give up! All of the failures are shaping you to the goal! Find someone who has done it successfully already and let them share with you how to conquer! Sometimes we need someone that can view what is happening from the outside and see what we cannot because we are right in the middle of it all. Let them examine where you are and how to correct your way of doing it so you can succeed too.
Falling and failing are part of success! Don’t be afraid to fail and get hurt. Don’t lose hope! Success is coming!
