☕ Coffee with Grim
Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons… if we’re paying attention.
My nephew spent three years talking about one thing.
A rock-climbing wall.
When he was in fourth grade, he watched the older kids climb it and promised his dad that when he reached sixth grade, he was going to make it to the top.
For three years, that wall wasn’t just an activity; it was a goal.
The day finally came.
Before the climb, everyone went out to dinner. Like a lot of sixth-grade boys, he found a different competition to win.
Who could eat the most breadsticks?
He was determined to be the champion.
Mission accomplished.
A few hours later, he stood at the base of the climbing wall he’d dreamed about for years. He grabbed the first holds, climbed about six feet, looked down at his dad, and said, “I can’t. My stomach hurts.”
Too many breadsticks.
After spending more time in the bathroom than on the wall, he went home without ever taking another shot.
I recently heard that story for the first time, and it stuck with me.
Not because it was about breadsticks or a rock-climbing wall, but because most of us have our own version of breadsticks.
We trade the thing we’ve wanted for years for something that feels good for a few minutes.
We choose comfort over commitment.
Distraction over discipline.
Immediate satisfaction over lasting fulfillment.
The breadsticks weren’t the problem.
The problem was forgetting what mattered most.
Here’s the part I love, though.
Years later, he bought a membership to a climbing gym.
Today, climbing is something he does regularly.
That one disappointing night didn’t become the end of his story.
It became a lesson.
We’re all going to have moments when we let something small get in the way of something important. The mistake isn’t having a breadstick moment.
The mistake is believing that one bad decision means you stop climbing.
So, if you’ve been distracted lately… if you’ve been chasing little victories while neglecting the bigger goal…
The wall is still there.
So, before I finish this cup of coffee, let me leave you with one question…
What’s one “breadstick” in your life that’s keeping you from the climb that matters most?
Until next time… keep paying attention.
— Grim
Did this resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.