Go the Distance

Have you ever felt like you “fell short” in your efforts to do something meaningful or make a difference? I know those feelings well, and if you are feeling that now, I can empathize. My first attempts at sports were failures. I was nine years old. Picture a skinny nine-year old boy freezing in the November Seattle rain, standing in a puddle as the lonely goalkeeper. I wasn’t the fastest or the best striker, so coach kept me in goal. No moments of glory there. When the opposing team made a shot on the goal, it was rare for me to make the stop. 

Little League Baseball was a little better, but imagine winding up and throwing a pitch with all of your might and then trying unsuccessfully to catch the line-drive hit back at you before you were hit in the mouth, dislodging your only adult teeth. Again, I cannot remember a real triumphant moment in my short baseball career, but at least I wasn’t cold, wet, and lonely. Basketball was better, but it took me five years and thousands of practice shots to find some success in high school. 

We all want to reach our potential and be recognized. Columnist David Brooks said: “Many of our society’s great problems flow from people not feeling seen and known. … [There is a] core … trait that we all have to get … better at, and that is the trait of seeing each other deeply and being deeply seen.” It is now my life goal to really see others for who they are and recognize their talents and abilities.

Maybe you feel like you are stuck in rut or in a place of little to no opportunity? I have been there too. Whether your dreams involve impressing that special someone, accomplishing a difficult but worthwhile task, or traveling a road you dreamed to travel, I can relate to the frustration and anxiousness of not being able to take first step towards your goal. When I was practicing hard or undergoing scrutiny or a coach’s chastening, I needed inspiration to keep going. I needed a dream to focus on. For me it was imagining a place where I was appreciated and where I felt accepted. For me the song, Go the Distance, from the Hercules Soundtrack really spoke to me. I include the lyrics in case you have not heard them or don't remember.

I have often dreamed… of a far off place. Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me

Where the crowds would cheer, when they see my face. And a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there someday, I can go the distance. I will find my way if I can be strong

I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road to embrace my fate. Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you

And a thousand years would be worth the wait. It might take a lifetime but somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back, I can go the distance. And I'll stay on track, no I won't accept defeat

It's an uphill slope But I won't lose hope, 'till I go the distance.

And my journey is complete, oh yeah. But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part

For a hero's strength is measured by his heart, oh. Like a shooting star, I will go the distance

I will search the world, I will face its harms. I don't care how far, I can go the distance

'Till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms.

See the link below to a great version of this song by Vocal Point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv6uxP7wTw8

I hope you find inspiration in the message of this song by Alan Menken. I certainly have been motivated to persist and develop grit. It’s my goal to be strong. I am trying not to dwell on my failures of the past. I will go the distance.