To break up my weekend exercise routine, I ran, walked and eventually staggered up and down Jacob’s Ladder which is the nickname for the tallest staircase in Perth (43m high, 242 steps). If you put aside the sweating bodies and the puffing and panting, one could pick out some important lessons about Life from just stair-climbing.
#1 Don’t compare yourself with what everyone else is doing. Sometimes others pass you by, and it seems like you’re going too slowly. Sometimes people tell you to go faster, take two steps instead of one at a time. But what works for someone else doesn’t necessarily work for me. I had to know what I was physically capable of, have confidence in myself and continue at a pace I could maintain. And not just maintain, but accomplish my goal!
#2 Sometimes you need to slow down, catch your breath and stretch a little, because you’ll need it for the way up! It’s easy to power ahead, but once the adrenalin dies off, you might find yourself left with a trembling mess of wobbly muscles half-way up with the stairwell miles away.
#3 Injuries catch up with you. I thought the mild ankle sprain I had months ago had completely healed. It was a mild injury but by doing Jacob’s, it became apparent that I was slower on the descent because I was afraid of rolling it again. Sometimes we need to be challenged to discover the chinks in our character that we need to work on and completely resolve if we are to finish strong.
And last but not least… #4 Don’t give up! Nothing beats the feeling of finishing.
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize…
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1Corinthians 9:24-27
- Susanna Tan
#1 Don’t compare yourself with what everyone else is doing. Sometimes others pass you by, and it seems like you’re going too slowly. Sometimes people tell you to go faster, take two steps instead of one at a time. But what works for someone else doesn’t necessarily work for me. I had to know what I was physically capable of, have confidence in myself and continue at a pace I could maintain. And not just maintain, but accomplish my goal!
#2 Sometimes you need to slow down, catch your breath and stretch a little, because you’ll need it for the way up! It’s easy to power ahead, but once the adrenalin dies off, you might find yourself left with a trembling mess of wobbly muscles half-way up with the stairwell miles away.
#3 Injuries catch up with you. I thought the mild ankle sprain I had months ago had completely healed. It was a mild injury but by doing Jacob’s, it became apparent that I was slower on the descent because I was afraid of rolling it again. Sometimes we need to be challenged to discover the chinks in our character that we need to work on and completely resolve if we are to finish strong.
And last but not least… #4 Don’t give up! Nothing beats the feeling of finishing.
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize…
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1Corinthians 9:24-27
- Susanna Tan
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