A Necessary Push

Admittedly, I wasn’t super excited to have the Q at Snoballs this week. Things at work & home have been super busy (& stressful).  I’ve been rising very early and hitting the hay very late at night… just to keep my head above water.  The snow/sleet event over the weekend was awesome for my 2.0s; however, it added to the stress for work as the workweek was cut short. Long story short, I wasn’t chomping at the bit to Q. That said, I was voluntold a few weeks ago by one of my closer F3 brother’s, Gastone, that I needed to Q Snowballs. Gastone has been a great friend of mine since my introduction to F3. He’s EH’d me when my posts were sparse, provided Godly counsel when times were tough, invited me to events outside of F3, and provided a necessary push (more than 1 time) to get me out of my comfort zone (i.e., BRR).  As such, I didn’t give any pushback , and I added the Q to my calendar.

As usual, Gastone tweeted a reminder about Snoballs & invited everyone for EC to “get sum”.  Hipaa replied with a HC to EC.  This meant he publicly committed himself to arrive at 0500 for a 3 mile mosey in the cold & icy gloom prior to my Q.  While Hipaa’s HC didn’t surprise me, I couldn’t help thinking about the positive transformation I’ve witnessed in his health since he started F3 nearly 1 year ago after being EH’d by his cardiologist.  Reflecting on Hipaa’s metamorphosis, I asked myself if I’ve changed for the better or worse over the last year.   This question can go in so many different directions, but for the purpose of this backblast, I asked myself “Am I stronger and healthier today than last year?” Unsure about the answer, I quickly decided that I should take a step in the right direction by joining the EC group.

One of my close friends likes to tell this story about a guy who decided to climb a hill and begin “crazy dancing” in clear site of a large group of people. The crowd watched from a safe distance, thinking the guy was completely off his rocker.  Eventually though, another guy climbed the hill & joined him in the silly behavior. As time passed, another guy joined the two men….then another and another and another until the entire crowd was dancing like fools atop the hill and a revolution was birthed.   Specific to my experience this week, Gastone represents the initial nincompoop who climbed the hill and invited all of us to join him for a run in frigid temps at 0500 when 99% of the population remained in the warm fartsack.  Hipaa represents the second brave soul who sloughed off the sad clown tendencies and decided it was a good idea to join Gastone.  Subsequently, Hippa’s tweet, “HC for EC” provided the necessary push I needed  to join the group for EC.

The point of this missive is to remind us that we need each other. This week, I needed to be voluntold by Gastone that I needed to Q, and I needed Hipaa’s prompt to get out of bed &do the hard work required to better myself.  Next week, it may be you who needs the necessary push.

In summary, I’m grateful for F3 and your positive impact on my life. Thanks for the many “necessary pushes” over the years to be a better HIM.