Never Too Old To Learn New Things

At the start of the Christmas Eve service, a short video (without any dialogue) was played. It showed a gentleman, probably in his 70s, average built and walked with a slow and steady gait. He was at home alone. He dragged out a ball-shaped weight that was obviously too heavy for him to lift. He attempted to hold the weight for 2 seconds, with his arms pointing down, and it dropped. The video continued to show his attempts, day after day, to lift the weight. It was summer time when he started. He would look at a picture (the audience could only see the back of the picture frame) and continue to lift the same weight. Sometimes he would be outdoors. Neighbors looked at him with skeptical stares. A neighbor even called up his daughter to stop by. He did not explain himself. He continued to practice lifting that weight. We as the audience started to see the progress. He was lifting the weight higher, longer and with more reps. It was getting to the cold weather. At that time, he was comfortably and confidently lifting that weight high up above his shoulders, with his arms straight up in the air.

The next scene was him dressed up in a suit, with a boxed gift in his hand. He went to his daughter’s house. With a loving smile, he gave the gift to a little girl around 7 years old, presumably his granddaughter. The little girl unwrapped the gift, and it was a star. Then the gentleman took the girl to the Christmas tree, lifted her high to put the star on top of the tree, without any difficulty.

At the end of this few-minute long video, everyone was tearing. As I was writing this, I cannot help but have tears run down my face.

Why does this story touch me so much?

The grandfather had a clear goal. He wanted to lift his granddaughter up to hang the star on the Christmas tree. In order to do that, he had to have the strength to lift about 60 pounds over his head, steadily. Dropping the weight (his granddaughter) would not be an option.

Even though it seemed impossible in the beginning, he set out to move toward his goal, believing that he could do it. He started to work hard. Every day. He reminded himself constantly why he was doing it, with the picture he was looking at (probably a picture of his granddaughter). He kept going, without worrying about what others thought of him. He kept his focus and his determination. Day by day, he was making progress. He was able to do more and more. Finally, he succeeded. He was able to lift the weight multiple times without problem. He was proud of himself. He was confident and full of joy.

The grandfather reminded me that it is never too late or too old to try something new. This applies to everyone. Take a typical clinical day of a physician. Or just take me as an example. For seven to eight years, I had charts to finish at the end of the day, which translated to late nights or bringing work home. There were days I had to finish my charts in the weekends. Then I set my goal. I wanted to spend more time with my family. In order to do that, my work hours had to be cut shorter. There were different ways of doing that, and I chose not to cut down my patient hours. Still working full-time, I believed I could become more efficient – even though I thought I was already as efficient as I could.

I believed I could cut down on my charting hours, even though it seemed impossible. With the goal in mind and the belief that I could do it, I started to work toward it. I tried different things. In order to get a different result, you have to do something different. I sought help from a coach, when I had no idea what a coach was outside of sports. I was open to try new things. With the goal in mind, the belief I could achieve it, I took action, with the guidance of my coach. I worked hard every day, focusing on my goal multiple times a day. I did not pay attention to what other people think. Within 3 months, I was able to consistently go home before 5:30 pm with all my clinical work done. That was a saving of at least 2.5 hours a day.

That was my journey from the impossible, to the inevitable and to my new identity. Now I am a full-time physician who finishes her work on time and I am able to go home to my family. This also reminds me of the miracle equation that Hal Elrod wrote about in his book “The miracle Equation: The Two Decisions That Move Your Biggest Goals from Possible, to Probable, to Inevitable”. The miracle equation for a miracle (not the supranatural kind) consists of two things: unwavering faith and extraordinary effort. When you whole-heartedly believe you can achieve something and put in 110% effort, you will eventually achieve your goal. Miracles do happen, and you get to create them.