Push Your Limits

Fun English Study: Push Your Limits

Written by Susie   There are so many times in our lives when we give up without pushing ourselves. There are also the times when we are on the brink of giving up. Times when we think we can’t go a single step farther, literally and/or figuratively, yet somehow we summon the energy and take those last few steps and achieve what we set out to do. As a parent, I don’t think there is anything more emotional and heart warming than seeing your child push himself/herself to the limit and come out on the other side with the satisfaction of a job well done. Today my second soldier son finished a grueling 50 kilometer trek that ended with the traditional beret bestowing ceremony. Up until this point, soldiers are only allowed to wear the standard beret that they received when they were drafted. Today, after “earning” it they received the special berets for the elite unit they are training to serve in. With their new beret in hand, they no longer have the “shame” or stigma of being a new recruit. Parents, grandparents, siblings and friends lined the steep uphill route that marked the end of the soldiers’ trek. (Which supposedly was a less wicked hill than others they encountered overnight.) There was waiting and there was a lot of anticipation. All of it was well worth it because the rush of emotion that everyone experienced when we heard the soldiers singing and yelling in the distance was electrifying. And when the soldiers finally came into view, in a plume of rising dust, civilians and soldiers meshed into one. All the spectators cheered the soldiers on and even physically helped them carry the stretchers as well as push the soldiers uphill. Each and every soldier, despite extraordinary fitness levels, was physically and emotionally exhausted and simply drained. It took everything they had to finish the last few hundred meters and then to stand for the thirty minutes of the ceremony. But they did and were greeted with hugs, kisses, congratulations, food and support. And lots and lots of pride. Pride from those who had come to watch and celebrate with them and more importantly self pride in a job well done. Pride in knowing that they had pushed themselves to the limit and had won. They also had some time to relax with family and try to forget for a few minutes about the aches and pains. Sometimes we think we can’t go on. Sometimes we think we have nothing left to give. And sometimes we push our limits and surprise ourselves. I don’t think there’s a better feeling than that, unless it’s watching your child push his limits and reap the satisfaction from a job extremely well done. (Although I do have to say I did feel really bad about the amount of pain he and all his friends were in, but I am sure they feel it was worth it.) What have you accomplished by pushing your limits? Share your idea by email us info [@] tienganhvui.com.   Vocabulary: brink of giving summon

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