In the New York Times, Lindsay Crouse recently wrote an opinion piece on becoming a marathon runner. This quest forced her beyond who she thought she was into something that she might become.
Training hard, everyday. Pushing herself against the edge of what she thought was possible, with the aspiration to run a 2:45 marathon. Each step of the way, she repeated to herself advice someone gave her about “getting comfortable with the uncomfortable” – recognizing that she never got comfortable.
In the process, something happened. While she has not yet attained her goal – her last attempt clocked in at 2:53 – her life has been transformed by that courage to step back out each day into the discomfort:
I became the kind of athlete I’d always wanted to be. The experience was the embodiment of that cliché about sports — it was empowering. As I trained, I realized I had become complacent in the rest of my life. Wasn’t it all enough? But running shook me out of it.
I think of Jami. I think of all of the teachers and students at Dayton. All of whom became Comfortable being Uncomfortable as they courageous stepped out, each day, into the unknown as they sought to reimagine education. Yes, a marathon, a very long one indeed.
While success was not always achieved, that wasn't what really mattered. What mattered was that they stepped out of their comfort and committed to do the audacious. By doing so, something was unleashed – something pure and powerful that could not be controlled by others. A voice. A passion. A truth.