Turning Left

[Kian Banks]

Everyday, I turn left. Over and over again. The faster I can get to the next left turn, the better I am doing. If I can get there faster than everyone else, I’m having a great day. Sometimes I ask myself why I get so much pleasure out of beating everyone to that left turn. It seems kind of meaningless in the scheme of things. I mean, what’s the point of beating everyone to a turn? Then again, maybe it’s not beating them to the turn but really just beating them in general. I love winning and I’m constantly in pursuit of being the best, so I guess that could be a good enough reason. But, what is it exactly about turning left? Beating people in cards or video games or even basketball is all fun, but nothing compares to that race to the left turn.. What is it about that shifting of weight so that my center of gravity is leaning leftward and then doing it in faster and faster intervals that motivates me to come back to do it over and over again? Maybe it’s the everlasting fight with the Conscious Coward. That’s how Coach would put it. The Conscious Coward sitting there on my shoulder telling me to slow down, telling me that I can’t do it and that I should just back down from the pain and discomfort. That’s one way you could put it. It’s fighting that Coward inside yourself every day, and when it says you can’t keep going, you push even harder to prove that Coward wrong. Afterall, once you overcome that Coward inside yourself, what can’t you overcome? The biggest obstacle in getting what you want in life is usually yourself. In order to reach your dreams, you need to believe in yourself, and in order to wholeheartedly believe in yourself, you have to overcome all self-doubt. So, maybe it’s not just beating everyone else. Maybe it’s beating everyone else while at the same time (and even more importantly) beating the toughest competitor I could ever face in my life: myself. Yeah.. that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I turn left. That’s why I run track.