Strength in Numbers

Strength in Numbers

When I was a tad bit younger than I am now, my swim coach used to pull all of the individualist bad girls aside and tell us the story of the geese.

It goes like this: Geese fly in a V shape to help one another soar more efficiently. The V is aerodynamic in that the goose at the front has to conquer the most resistance while those at the back can cruise on the jet streams of everyone else and rest. When the goose at the front gets tired, all the others move forward and a new goose replaces the old leader to take up the resistance and give him a break. The geese rotate like this because they need each other to keep flying, otherwise they would all die of flying exhaustion and never accomplish much in their short geesy lives.

Thus, when we (the smaller versions of ourselves) were being too catty and self-centered; too focused on competing with each other rather than supporting one another, our coach liked to remind us that none of us would get better alone; we needed each other to thrive.

Recently, I have been reminded of this story. For those of you that are familiar with my obsession, aka, crossfit, you will not be surprised when I say that crossfit has brought this concept back to me. Being your best at anything is always easier when you have people trying, accomplishing, and struggling with the same things you are. No matter how someone is doing at the gym, there is always another person cheering them on. When one or two people decided to try and eat Paleo this month, over ten of us joined them; we have shared recipes, questions, thoughts, successes, and failures. Although I am only the first week into the challenge, it seems easier to do this with others. It is quite possible that anything is easier to achieve with the support of a community.

So go out and act like a goose. Get to it!