Mind over Matter

It was a sweltering spring day in Texas. I was participating in the middle school track and field events. Running had been a strong suit for me and I was sure I would succeed and earn the blue ribbon, a prize I would cherish.

The events seemed to take forever to complete. I did fairly well on the long jump, sprinted ahead of the pack in the quarter mile and then I stood in line for the high jump. I was far from thrilled about this event and wanted to give up before it even started. One of the girls standing beside me, Kim, offered a bit of a challenge. She piqued my interest with the challenge.

Kim towered over me, standing about 5'10”; compared to my 5'5. She was a couple years older than I was. I questioned if I could compete against her, but since she challenged; I was going to go for it!

One by one, we all took turns, sprinting down the lane and jumping as high as we could over the bar that increased inch by inch. We started at a mere three feet. Kim and I kept egging one another on in a very lighthearted manner through our intervals of waiting. Before I knew it, I was having more fun in that competition than I had running - and I took the blue ribbon in that event!

I stopped listening to the coach as he told us the new height. I looked at the measurements at the start of each race and noted what I thought was the five foot, one inch mark. I knew I could clear that easily and made my sprinting start. I approached the bar and jumped with all my might, stretching out and over the bar; landing on the soft matting without so much as a clip of the bar.

Kim followed me and I watched as her body was so gracefully lifted off the ground and over the bar, just as I had done. The competition was limited in numbers by that point. No one else cleared the bar that round. I felt proud in that moment and then I heard the coach say he was increasing the bar by one inch.

I heard the announcement of “six foot” and thought it was quite a large jump increase from my last jump. I mentioned something to Kim and she smiled and took off sprinting down the track. I watched her clear the bar, but she tapping it. The bar wobbled, but stayed put. I knew clearing this height would be a challenge.

I took a deep breath and focused on the bar. I tried to envision it shorter than it was, but the height kept ringing in my mind. I took off sprinting and jumped with even more force than I had before. I began to rise and over the bar I went, taking it down with my foot dragging too low.

When I got off the mat, I asked the coach what height I had cleared. With a very surprised look on his face, he said it was five foot, eleven inches. My best height was six-inches taller than I!

I took second place in that competition. Many years later, I know that the greatest life lesson learned during that race was mind over matter. I cleared that bar at five-foot, eleven inches because I was sure it was only five-foot, one inch.

Looking at life now, I follow that same approach. There is nothing I can’t accomplish if I visualize my goals at an attainable level.