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Last night I consumed a large piece of chocolate faster than my 2 year-old consumes a frosted cupcake.  Dark chocolate is my personal weakness.

That said, I was at the gym this morning doing my sit ups, lunges and squats, not feeling particularly cute or proficient.  Then, out comes an energetic huddle of super-moms.  At least some of them were moms.  They are in the “select class” that basically seems like an elite sports team.

I have noticed them before, and have always felt secretly jealous of them because they are so on top of their work-out game.  Not all of them are “ripped”, but all of them run the stairs, do suicides and jump through tires like it’s their day job.  They are quite impressive.  Not quite Kelly Ripa, but pretty close.

Today, I saw two of them hop up onto pull-up bars at least three feet taller than they are, and start doing pull ups (after they had just run laps).

My jaw dropped.

After they left the area where I was doing my measly little routine, I glared at those bars, or they glared at me.  I’m not sure which.

Even though I really wanted to, I didn’t jump up and reach for those bars because honestly, I was afraid I’d miss and totally make a fool of myself.

“At least I know how to do good squats and hold a plank for 30 seconds.  I’ll just stick to what I know I can do.” I reasoned with myself.

But really, is that how I want to live life?  Always doing what is comfortable and within my capacity to do?

I wish I had just taken a spoonful of humble pie, and asked them how to get enrolled in their class, or at least how in the world they reached that bar.  But of course, my ego was a bit too big for that.  So, I just kept doing the same old routine I knew how to do.  The same old thing that left me right in the middle of my comfort zone.

The truth is, I want to be like them.  I want to jump up on those high bars and do pull-ups.  I want to do things that challenge me beyond what comes naturally.  I want to be stretched and reach new levels of performance, strength and endurance- both inside and outside of the gym.

I don’t want to hold back out of fear in any area of life.  Afraid of what people might think of me if I fall flat on my face.  

The women in that “super-mom” class inspire me to reach for more in life.

So, as a personal challenge that will hopefully inspire me to keep growing in other areas as well, I am going to master the pull-up bar.  And I’ll start with the goal of 1 correctly done pull-up.

Don’t despise small beginnings!

How about you?  What is a new challenge you could take on that just might help you grow into more of the “you” you want to be?