UGET2

The story below is an old favorite from my friend Lori Shepard in Nashville. She was my inspiration at that last mile of the marathon and this story has become part of our family culture and lingo. So thankful for Lori's words below....

don’t ever forget that…UGET2

lori shepard

When I taught physical education in south Florida, my class of fifth and sixth grade girls would walk to the track and jog a lap everyday to warm-up before the day’s activities.  Without fail, everyday someone would ask me, “Miss Shepard, do we have to jog a lap today?”  And everyday I would reply, “Yes, you have to jog a lap today.”  Day after day, someone would ask, “Miss Shepard, do we have to jog a lap today?”  And I would always reply, “Yes, you have to jog a lap today.” 

One day, we walked to the track and, as usual, someone asked, “Miss Shepard, do we have to jog a lap today?”  I thought for a second and said, “No, you do not have to jog a lap today.”  Oh my goodness, the girls were jumping with shouts of joy.  Oh my, oh my, they were so excited that they did not have to jog a lap today.  After I quieted them down again I asked the class if they thought that Matthew Acton would give anything he owned to just jog one lap around the track.  Matthew was a boy in their class who lived his entire life in a wheelchair.  They all agreed that Matthew would for sure give anything he owned to just jog one lap around that track.  I said, “Well, girls…today, you don’t have to jog a lap around the track…You Get To!”  They took off running around that track, laughing the whole way, having a great time, even the little chubby ones ran the entire way.

Tell me what happened to the lap they dreaded jogging everyday.  Did it get any shorter?  Was it less hot and humid?  Did I offer them treats after their 400 meters of running?  No.  What changed was their perspective on their situation.  They were reminded of the gift of having two working legs and that they didn’t have to jog that lap, they were given the gift of being able to jog that lap.                                              

There are only a few things in life that we have to do…they are to eat, to drink, and to breathe…everything else is a choice.  We make choices everyday.  The choices we make are rooted in our perspective.  Our perspective develops through our life experiences.  Our life experiences are shaped by our family, by the friends we choose, by the activities we take part in, and by the negative or positive attitudes we bring to everything we do.

You don’t have to do much in this world…UGET2.

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