How I fell on my ass on vacation (caught on video)

I have trouble relaxing. Even on vacation. Many of you know this about me.  But this last vacation, I promised Steph that I’d chill out.  I wouldn’t work. And I’d go to the beach. Every day.

It’s not that I don’t like the beach. It’s my favorite place on earth. It’s just haaaaard for me to relax – you know what I mean?  But a promise is a promise.

So, other than one itsy bitsy press interview, I didn’t work.

But I did have an accomplishment goal. It’s silly, but I’ve always wanted to learn gymnastics. Literally, my entire life. I remember being 30 (which seems like a lifetime ago), when my company’s location sat above a state-of-the-art gymnastics academy and I thought to myself, I’m too old for this.

I don’t know if I’ve lost some brain cells in my old age – or maybe just some insecurities – but, inspired by the 2016 Summer Olympics, I decided I was going to learn how to do a handstand at the beach. With zero help.

There’s something about accomplishing a goal entirely on my own that gives me a greater sense of success than when someone holds my hand along the way.

So here’s where I began with this silly little goal of mine. All on my own. My first attempt. Baby steps.

Feeling confident, I practiced every single day. Steph offered to help me – to spot me. She’s an ice hockey player and recently fell in love with Cross Fit. But I didn’t want help. I didn’t want a spot. I wanted to do it on my own. So then this happened. On video of course. How sweet is Steph at the end, running to get me (I hit that sand pretty hard, btw)?  

I learned something from that moment in the sand:

I get why you want to learn relationship skills on your own.  Why you want to keep your journey private – a quiet goal. You’re just like me. You don’t want to dilute your accomplishment.

But what if I could save you from landing on your head the way I did?  My headache went away by morning, but the price of you not learning relationship skills could be more costly. You know that. I won’t bore you with the details again.

Anyway, after biting it that day on the beach, determined to hit my goal, I accepted a little help from my wife.

And I got to thinking about accepting help:

It seemed pretty easy to land that handstand with Steph by my side.  She’s done that very exercise (and every drill leading up to it) many times in Cross Fit. She knew exactly where I’d hit trouble, because the people who taught her supported her through those rough spots.

Registration for Relationship Skills Boot Camp closes at 10:00 p.m. ET this Sunday. That’s 5 days. Why not let Steph and me hold your hand through the wild west of relationship skills, saving you from failure, protecting your relationship, or, if you’re single, ensuring that your next relationship is a successful one?

Click here to hop over to RSBC’s website. And thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to watch me fall on my tush.