The Size of Your Dreams, - [good books for high schoolers txt] 📗

ready for States.”

“I think,” Jarod said, “that when you put your mind to something, you’re a force to be reckoned with. The Christy I know would have been lifting weights in the hospital if she thought she could come back in time.”

“Jarod, you have any idea how long it takes to come back from a broken leg?”

“Not really. Do you?”

“The doctor told me I shouldn’t expect to walk without a cast for two months.”

“Then it’s a good thing for you the state eliminated that pool walking event from the championships.”

Christy shoved her finger in Jarod’s chest. “You got a point, funny guy?”

“I expect swimming puts far less stress on your legs than walking. Do you know how long it’ll be before you’ll be allowed back in the pool?”

“I assume not until the cast comes off.”

“Sounds to me like you don’t know,” Jarod said. “What can you do now to prepare the rest of your body so that the moment you can use your leg again, you’re ready to go?”

Christy thought for a moment. “You know, I really don’t know.”

“So who does?” Darnell asked. “Is there an expert you can ask?”

Christy chewed on her lip. “Coach Sue might know. Or at least she’d know who to ask.” She swallowed hard and added, “I’d better speak to her about that as well as scheduling new try-outs. That’s her decision anyway. Darnell, can you help me figure out how to shift my diet?”

A grin brought out the dimples in Darnell’s cheeks. “Gladly.” It was probably the first time in his life anyone asked him for advice on food.

* * *

“Coach Sue thinks there’s a slim chance I can make it back,” Christy reported the next day. “Though even if I can, I won’t be the same swimmer this year.”

“How long until you can get into the pool?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“The doctors planned to replace my cast with a smaller one in about two weeks. Coach Sue told me that if they make the new one waterproof, I’ll be able to get into the pool almost immediately. She said swimming anyway puts far less strain on a break than running, so the chances of re-injury are slim.”

“What did she say about new try-outs?”

“At first she said no. She said we don’t go reforming the team every time someone gets hurt.”

“At first?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“She eventually relented when I explained how committed I was to winning the state championships and how guilty I felt about the accident. She doesn’t expect anything to come of tryouts, but she told me she’d come to the pool a half hour early today and would check out any girl wanting to join the team. So I’ve called all the girls that had been in contact with me earlier. One is no longer interested, but three are coming.”

Mr. Griffin smiled. “Let this be a lesson to all of you. When there’s a disagreement between two people, who wins?”

“I would have said the one in charge,” Jarod said, “but it didn’t work out that way this time.”

“How about the one that’s the loudest?” Darnell said.

“No way,” Christy said. “The surest way to lose with Coach Sue is to raise your voice. She won’t have anyone challenging her authority.”

“In my experience,” Mr. Griffin said, “90% of the time the one with the greatest will prevails.”

“So you think Christy won because she wanted it more?” Jarod asked.

“No. Will and desire are not the same thing, though desire certainly plays a role. Christy had a clear outcome and an iron will. Coach Sue only had a general idea about what she wanted and clearly didn’t care all that much if it went her way. Despite being louder and having all the authority, she had little chance.” “One more update,” Christy said. “Darnell’s been a champ at digging up information. I’ve already started on his Popeye diet.”

“Popeye diet?” Jarod asked.

“That’s what I’m calling it,” Christy said, “because he’s got me eating all this spinach.”

“Not just spinach,” Darnell said. “But spinach is high in calcium and zinc, both of which are important for injury recovery. Broccoli, cabbage, and kale are also good. She also needs vitamins C, D, and K, as well as protein to rebuild the bones.”

“If she needs calcium and protein,” Jarod said, “why not just put her on cheeseburgers?”

“She needs foods that are anti-inflammatory.” Darnell’s temper rose, then calmed down when he saw that Jarod was just messing with him. “Beans are good for protein, and if she adds turmeric they’ll be even better.”

“Wow, you really know what you’re talking about,” Jarod said.

“Not really. I didn’t know any of this yesterday. I spent a couple of hours last night going through websites that have articles on this stuff. I don’t even know what turmeric tastes like.”

“Still,” Mr. Griffin said, “it sounds like you’ve been learning quite a bit about food. I imagine that’s been helping you move toward your own goal?”

“Yeah.” Darnell’s voice sounded surprisingly unenthusiastic.

“Something bothering you Darnell?” Mr. Griffin asked. “Are you finding the new diet hard to keep?”

“No, the diet’s been great. The more I learn, the more I enjoy cooking. There are a few healthy chefs I’m following on YouTube and, though my dishes don’t come out looking anything like theirs, I’m improving, and the food tastes far better than I expected.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Darnell twisted the cap on and off his pen. “It’s my goal.”

“Ah, you’re not losing weight as fast as you’d like?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“No, that’s not it. I’m on pace to easily exceed my goal this month. I just don’t feel motivated by it any longer.”

“Why not?”

“Well, when I started, I was just sick of being a fat guy. Each day I’d jump on the scale, and if my weight had dropped a pound, I was thrilled. If it climbed, I was devastated.”

“And now?”

“Now I’m dragging myself onto the scale, and even when I see my weight drop, I don’t care all that much.”

“What’s changed?” Mr. Griffin asked.

“I guess I’m seeing that if I eat right and get the exercise I need, the weight will take care of itself.”

“So what do you find motivating?”

“Believe it or not: learning. There is so much about food and health that I didn’t know. I mean, I knew my eating was unhealthy—any idiot knows soda and ice cream aren’t good for you—but I really couldn’t have told you what a healthy diet looked like. I’m enjoying learning about new foods and preparing them. And I love the fact that I can feel the difference. I have more energy and stamina. But reading my card isn’t all that motivating.”

“It sounds to me like you’re ready for a new goal.”

“It’s OK. I’ve only got a week to go ’til I hit the deadline on this one. I should make it easily. I’ll make myself a new card then.”

Mr. Griffin laughed. “Why wait?”

“Why wait? Mr. Griffin, you’re always telling us the value of seeing our goals through to the end. Jarod spent $200 on Cirque du Soleil tickets and ditched a day of school because you wouldn’t let him budge on his goal.”

“The show was excellent, by the way,” Jarod added. “My girlfriend and I went last week. Not sure I’d spend another $200 to do it again, but I have no regrets.” “See?” Darnell said. “Now you want me to drop my goal with a week to go?” “Jarod’s goal,” Mr. Griffin said, “was still meaningful to him. He just wanted to give it up because he didn’t think he could make it. That’s a time you’ve got to push through, or else you’ll find yourself giving up whenever you face an obstacle. But your goal, Darnell, has lost its juice. In fact, seeing your face when you talk about it, I wonder if the goal is demotivating you. What possible purpose is there in holding onto a goal you couldn’t care less about reaching?” “I do want to reach it,” Darnell said, “because I want to be a person who sees his goals through to the end.”

“Go to any law school and ask the third-year students about their career hopes. You’ll be shocked at how many of them have already decided that law is not for them but are sticking out their degree because they think it’s important to finish what they begin. Meanwhile, they’re racking up a fortune in debt and wasting time they could be spending building something they do want for their lives.”

“So you’d have them quit?” Darnell asked.

“Absolutely. I’ve never understood why quitters get such a bad rap. I’m a huge fan of quitting.”

“You?” Christy said. “After all the hell you gave me yesterday when I wanted to quit?”

“Again, it all depends on the reason you’re quitting. You, Christy, are dying to win the state championship in swimming, you wanted to quit because you thought it was beyond your reach.”

“Still do.”

“That may be, but my point is that you still want it. I know that you’re capable of so much more than you realize. My aim is to make you see that as well. So no way I’m going to let you walk away from a goal just because it’s hard.” Mr. Griffin stepped in front of Darnell’s desk and leaned in. “But a goal that you no longer want? That you no longer find motivating? Chuck it. Find your fire. Find your passion. Create a new goal that lights you up and go after that.”

“So what should my new goal be?” Darnell asked.

“You tell me. Where are your passions right now?”

“My passions are in learning more about food and how to cook healthy meals.”

“So there you go. You need to create a goal around that.”

“But I don’t see how it fits our structure. Weight was such an easy goal because it’s so measurable. How do I write ‘learn more about health’ into an Outcome Card?”

“You’re right, it doesn’t fit our normal structure, and it’s important that milestones be measurable. However, there’s a big difference between lead and lag measures.” Mr. Griffin grabbed a new notecard for Darnell. “Go ahead and tear up that old notecard. We’re going to replace it with what I call a Continual Growth card.”

Darnell’s face lit up like a kid before a piñata as he tore his card to shreds. “How do I make a Continual Growth card?”

“Continual Growth cards are almost a hybrid of our Outcome Cards and our Identity Cards. Like the Outcome Cards, they do have a clear objective, but the objective is not measurable, and like the Identity Cards, there’s no end date.”

“I thought you said it’s important that we choose measurable objectives?” Darnell asked.

“It is. But on Continual Growth cards, it’s the steps, not the objective, that are measurable. Also, we’re going to shift from lag to lead measures. Lag measures tend to be easier to get our heads around, but lead measures can be far more powerful.”

“What are lag and lead measures?” Jarod asked.

“A lag measure comes after the work. For instance, if you want to see how much weight you’ve lost in the last week, you can hop on a scale. The lag measure tells you nothing about the future, just what you’ve done in the past.”

“So a lead measure is a future based measurement?” Jarod asked.

“Precisely.”

“Can you give us an example?” Christy asked.

“To get in shape, I’ll go for a 5K run every morning at 6 am,” Mr. Griffin said. “It tells you exactly what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it.”

“So then how will I know when I’ve met my objective?” Darnell said.

“You