"Obsessive Genes", inspired by Steve

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shiva
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"Obsessive Genes", inspired by Steve

I was thinking about what it means having an obsessive personality, and how it can be put to good use. One possible way is sports, here is a story that has inspired me lately:

http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/ulysses.html

Partial Quotes:

Quote:After performing my 6,006th push-up, I stopped and received a round of applause from an audience of about twenty students. The test administrator announced that he was reporting my feat to the newspapers and that any future record-breaking effort by me would have to be monitored by a medical doctor. When I arrived home, dinner had already been served so I ate alone. While dining, I thought about what I had just accomplished.

I had succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. Deep in my heart, I knew that every drop of sweat, every hour of training, and every personal sacrifice I had made to achieve this record had been worth it. I was on top of the world and I liked the view. As Christmas grew near, I began planning to break my own record. After all, I had been stopped when I knew I could do more. Push-ups had become an obsession. Heifetz was right, even though my standard was now the best in the world, it wasn't enough. I felt that I had to surpass it.

Quote:To achieve that new standard, I'd need a "good" day, witnesses, and medical supervision. But my quest to discover the limit for my favorite exercise was never realized. Sixty-nine days after breaking the world push-up record, I broke something else, my neck, during a gymnastics practice and was permanently paralyzed.

As I lay in my hospital bed, I looked toward the future and saw only darkness. The body I had worked so long and hard to develop now failed to respond to my commands and imprisoned me. I worried that I would never be able to work or take care of myself and would be a burden on my family. Fears that I might die were replaced by the dread that I would live.

But while my body was shattered, my spirit, although badly bruised, was still intact. I decided to fight back and redirected the effort that had made me a champion toward the arduous task I hoped would lead to my physical independence.

During my rehabilitation, I harkened back to my quest for the push-up record when the going got rough. Knowing that I was capable of achieving what other people considered impossible, I did all that was asked of me and more. I lived in a world of three colors. Black represented the things I couldn't do, white the activities I could. Between these two tones were many shades of gray. I concentrated on this tint and through trial and error discovered what was truly light and dark. While doing so, I brightened my world to an extent that surprised my doctors, nurses, therapists, and me.

.....

Quote:"There is some factor in man, some form of special adaptation which prompts a few individuals to exploits which, however purposeless that they may seem, are of value to the survival of the race." Anderson had found that the grain of truth to the Odyssey was that Homer knew that in the soul of man there is a factor driving him to firsthand discovery. Although this factor is present in all humans, it is highly developed in only a few. In times of trouble, those few lead themselves and others to safety.

Homer personified this factor in the character of Ulysses. The hero of the Odyssey wasn't driven around the Mediterranean by the whim of the gods alone. He drove himself. Once committed to the fight, there was no stopping him. Even though he was eager to return home, he had to know what was across the sea, over a range of hills, and beyond the horizon. History proved Homer correct. Conquerors and explorers who followed were also driven by this force that compelled them to unveil the unknown.

After all the seas were crossed and the land was explored, men invented new challenges to satisfy this compulsion. Some explored the polar regions, climbed mountains, and sailed across the oceans alone in small boats. Others were athletes who prepared their bodies and minds to new extremes.

I was such an athlete. At first all I wanted to do was to improve my physical condition. As my fitness program continued, I discovered that I had a propensity for the push-up. I didn't know what my physical limit for this exercise was, but I simply had to find out.

While seeking that limit, I surpassed all who had come before me. A catastrophic injury put an end to my quest, and I was never able to find my limit. Disappointed, I nevertheless was consoled by the fact that I am one of the few who objectively knows that he'd done something better than it's ever been done before. For ten years and four months no one performed more push-ups than I had.

Eventually, my record would have been broken no matter how many push-ups I would have done. I was touched by the Ulysses factor but Robert was too. Someone will always be waiting in the wings who has trained harder, longer, and wants the record more.

But in the greater scheme of things, it really doesn't matter who can do the most push-ups. What is important is what I derived from the quest. I discovered and cultivated the virtues of discipline, sacrifice, and perseverance within me while pursuing a dream.

mkoco04
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Re: "Obsessive Genes", inspired by Steve

I agree, "obsession" can be very powerful gift and ally to anyone on the path; you can grow leaps and bounds. ...or play WoW all day ;D

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