My Favorite Reminder On Why To Keep Training

Spring was in the air and the annual wood chopping contest was the final event of the County Fair. The crowds gathered, the excitement grew as the two finalists were about to begin. One was the reigning champion who had won year after year. The other was a new guy in his first wood chopping contest. All of the odds were on the bigger, more experienced champion.

The challenge was to see who could chop the most wood in one hour. Both men readied their axes, the starter fired the shot and the contest began. Trees fell, chips flew and wood was piling up.

About 20 minutes into the contest the new guy asked the champ if it would be OK for him to take a short break. The champion laughed and was all for him taking a ‘time out’, thinking ‘what an idiot’, while he just kept chopping.

After another 20 minutes or so, the new guy asked the champ if he’d mind if he took another short break. Again, completely sure of his win, the champ said, “Take as long as you want.”

The one-minute warning came as both men chopped as fast as possible, the final bell rang and the champ held his axe high in the air with no doubt in his mind he’d won, especially since the new guy took a couple of breaks.

The judges counted the wood, handed their scorecards to the ring master who grabbed the microphone and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the judges have reached a unanimous decision. The winner of the 44^th annual wood chopping contest is … the new guy!”

The crowds quietly cheered as they looked on in amazement, and the champion was shocked. As the announcer interviewed the new guy he asked, “I’m sure everyone here and especially our 12-time champ has the same question. How did you win, especially since you took two breaks?”

The new guy smiled and said …

“I wasn’t actually taking a break, I was sharpening my axe.”

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