Day 16- Teamwork

Yesterday I went to my usual Thursday bootcamp class, but my instructor presented us with a very difficult exercise in the middle of it. We had already done static wall squats at one point during the workout, but then she threw us for a loop. "I want you to pair up with a partner and turn back to back. Now, do a static squat using each others weight for support." Not cool.

It was so hard to try and balance with someone who was a different weight and height. After the second attempt when half of the pairings couldn't do it she admitted to us that she set us up to fail. She said that the point of her exercise was for us to try and work together as a team. She wanted us to communicate and learn how to adjust our body weight based on someone else. I thought it was an odd exercise for a boot camp class because why do I care about how my body reacts to another's?

Flashforward to today and TLL chapter 26. In this chapter Pausch talks about pairing up students from different academic fields and how much can be accomplished when you pair up the left brain dominated people with the right brain dominated ones. What resulted from his experiment is the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon. This is truly a fascinating concept if you have time to read about it.

So what did I learn today that I can use to carry me through Lentspiration?

I learned that it can be good to work with others. At the end of my bootcamp class yesterday I realized my partner was now a gym-friend: no one that I will call up or text (I don't text anyway, but I am trying to sound hip), but someone I can wave at on Tuesday when we reconvene. It is always nice to feel included, and knowing your fellow gym enthusiasts always helps with that. Those people are the ones that might breathlessly sigh out "Keep it up," after you just completed 9 burpees and don't feel like you can do the 10th. Their words of support can pull that 10th burpee out time and again. Even when we are working on something that belongs to only us- like our bodies- we still need others for support & perspective.

Second, I learned that others with different views and opinions help you see outside of yourself. Yes, I knew that, but it is good to be reminded every now and again. In yesterday's entry I confessed that I like to delegate and not lose control. I lost control leaning on that chick. I had to learn to trust, just like the computer whiz had to learn to trust the drama student in Pausch's virtual reality class, and in doing that they created a whole new academic field.

This reminds me of a scene from one of my favorite movies, Dead Poet's Society.

John Keating: [Stands on top of desk] Why do I stand up here? Anybody?

Dalton: To feel taller!
John Keating No!
[Dings a bell with his foot]
John Keating: Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.

-Dear God, Help me to listen to others and be more receptive to interaction and different points of view. Help me to learn to trust those outside of my inner circle. I want to thank you for those around me who are different than I am. I know that the universe is wider than our (MY!) views of it. Thanks for the reminder. Amen.