Run Forrest Run!

A friend of mine commented on my FB post to “Run Lyle Run!”. Forrest Gump also happened to be on TV a few weeks ago. My daughter had never seen this movie, and sat, fascinated, the whole way through. She cried, I cried. And she is a generation AA (or Millenium or whatever they call the next one after Gen Y..I can't keep up).

Got me thinking about my endeavours in being a Fat Runner.

What was it about Forrest Gump that worked? He obviously wasn't blessed with being all that clever. He was born into an ordinary family with a single mum, and had polio. A toxic combination pointing to a less than successful future. Some would say a simpleton, a fool, an idiot. But that idiot created a Fortune 500 business, won a bravery medal, became a champion tennis table player, met several of the American presidents, ran across the country (Run, Forrest, Run!), married the girl he had loved since he was a young boy, and became a father to a kid who was smart, unlike his dumb self.

That turning moment in the movie stands out for me as the key to Forrest's success - when the bullies are chasing him in their van, yet again picking on him, and his “Jenny” calls out at the top of her lungs “Run, Forrest, Run!”, and he just takes her word for it, and starts to run, with no thought other than to get away from the van, to do what his beloved wants, and the metal falls away and he is running.

What is it about Forrest Gump's seemingly effortless sucess I wonder?

Another moment in the movie which pointed to what worked for Forrest, was when he was in the Vietnamese jungle, and his best friend Bubba is injured, and he had promised they would always look out for each other, but he can't find his fallen friend anywhere, and Forrest, under massive gun fire and in danger to his life, (with no thought to it at all), carries out member after member of his platoon to safety, before finding Bubba who is mortally wounded, and Bubba dies in his arms.

“Smart” people would say Forrest's behaviour is dumb, he does things with no thought to them whatsoever. There are so many moments in the movie where people laugh at Forrest, or shake their heads in amazement at his lack of good common sense. But MAYBE that's part of what it is that worked. He didn't second guess, didn't ponder, didn't procrastinate, didn't feel bad, ruminate, talk about it, he just did exactly what he was told to do. To the letter. Not start strong then end weak, not half hearted, not 'holding back', just did the whole thing every time.

I certainly cannot say that I have ever been that consistent or played that hard in application of much of anything in my life. But, when I have, it has been such indescribable joy, relief and elation to do that. Like when I managed to get out my babies after hours and hours of agony and strain, or when I finished my incredibly difficult statistics unit for my postgraduate qualification, or when somehow me and my sisters managed to talk an airline into giving seats on a plane, my auntie into postponing the proceeding of, arrange travel insurance with the artery condition exclusion removed to successfully get my parents overseas to my dad's only brother's funeral with little time and even less money. Miracles are possible when we play full tilt.

Michelle Bridges (yes that famous trainer on Australia's Biggest Loser TV show), points out with great emphasis that motivation is a fabrication designed to give us yet another excuse to not be in action.

So what produces results then? Action. Not overthinking it. So when someone says “Run, Lyle, Run!” You know what? I am going to Just Full-on Do It.