DadBurbiaFIT is where I like to talk about keeping active and healthy with the primary goal of being a better dad. Fitness is important for my own health and wellness but it also serves as a positive example to my kids of how living an active lifestyle is important to becoming a better person.
My wife and I work hard to motivate our kids to set healthy goals, persevere and follow through on a commitment...but sometimes it works the other way around.
Why I submitted a video to be on American Ninja Warrior.
So most of you probably know the show AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR. The wildly popular, action-packed series on NBC and Esquire follows competitors as they tackle the world’s most difficult obstacle courses in qualifying rounds to get to a final round on a four-stage course modeled after the famed Mt. Midoriyama.
The reality series is hands down my kids' favorite show. They know the characters like James "The Beast" McGrath and Joe "The Weatherman" Moravski like I know Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Ric "The Nature Boy" Flair. The show has all the drama and story telling of the WWE...just with fewer suplexes.
So while watching the show over the summer my kids asked me if I could ever be on the show.
I was intrigued thinking how cool it would be to get a shot at the course. Instead, I blurted out, "No, I'm too old."
Shaking my head, I thought, 'I can't believe that just came out of my mouth. I have spent the last 11 years as a dad telling my kids they can accomplish whatever they wanted to in life. My wife and I tell them constantly to set goals for themselves, work hard, break goals down to small tasks and don't...make...excuses....' And here I was...making a lame excuse.
Men naturally become more risk-averse as we age. The fearless, bullet-proof personality of our 20s is replaced by a general complacency. Whether it is an intrinsic fear of death or a general acceptance of adequacy, men get comfortable to watch from the bench, sitting safely on the sidelines reluctant to take a shot. We spend less and less time "in the zone" of achievement and invincibility and more and more time in our "comfort zone."
In that moment of self-doubt about my age, I realized how hypocritical I sounded...how complacent I was becoming. It wasn't the right behavior to model. This is not the dad they deserve.
As luck would have it, that same night, a Ninja Warrior hopeful named Jon Stewart toed the starting line. Stewart, a 54 year old father destroyed the course. My kids looked at me and threw my "too old" excuse right back in my face. "Dad! if he can do it...you can do it."
I told them I would submit a video. They were thrilled.
As the deadline neared, it wasn't easy to finish. Fighting myself and self-doubt the entire time, my excuses of "This is silly. You can't do this. Your friends will laugh. You're too old." were only conquered by "You promised your kids. You don't want to be a disappointment. You want to show your kids they can do anything."
So I downloaded iMovie, wrote a rough script, filmed a few workouts, got my kids involved in the process, got over my fear of being on video, taped a three-minute submission video and completed the casting application.
I honestly don't have any delusions of getting that call. Despite all of my good intentions, my video - honestly - was pretty bad.
What I do have is an earned victory. The pride that I'm not mailing it in and becoming complacent. I'm not the dad who who prefers to parent from the sofa. I am the dad who can say, "Do as I say AND as I do." Hopefully I earned the respect of my kids for taking a shot, working hard, breaking down my goal and not...making...excuses.
So, if you are a casting director reading this and want to take a flyer on a 40- something year old, baseball coaching, father of three super American Ninja Warrior fans, I promise you - like I did my kids - I will bust my butt and give it all I have....no excuses.
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If you want to learn more about ANW check out here.