When you do push-ups, you draw from your own strength, developing a certain set of muscles. On the other hand, pull-ups require that you draw on the strength of something else or someone else. It seems to me that life must have a push and pull factor for us to move forward. Just as a plane has thrust and lift to push from the ground, it requires the pull of the air provided through the suction on the wings to rise and remain in flight. As birds flap their wings, they received help from the air, which allows them to soar and glide.
Sometimes it seems like we must do everything on our own, but when we make our greatest effort to thrust forward, we find that help is all around us. Fear will always keep you grounded, but there is always someone around to pull you up, when you push up. If you read the biographies of great men and women, their greatness was not achieved by their efforts alone. A parent, teacher, friend, or stranger was always mentioned in their stories who helped them at critical times. Just as athletes on a field, land on the ground after a great effort, a teammate or an opponent, usually comes along and gives them a hand to help them up? We don’t have to look for the help, it usually comes after we have given our best effort. Just as physical development requires a balance between push-ups and pull-ups, success in all areas of our lives require the same balance.
Discipline is required to put in the work that is necessary to thrust forward, and discipline is required to receive help when needed. However, it is important to remember that the push and pull factors which keep our world in balance never come from selfish individualism. While we are pushing ourselves up and receiving the pull of others, we must pull others up also. Let’s us discipline ourselves for our own success, and for the success of our world.