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The Secret to Success is in 'King of the Hill'
Confession time: I’m a fan of King of the Hill.
In season 5, episode 19 of the series, the eponymous character Hank Hill competes in a lawnmower race. There’s this bizarre plot where Hank discovers he has no buttocks, which comes to a head in the last lap as he struggles to finish the race.
Hank can’t win, and neither can his neurotic friend-slash-neighbour Dale Gribble. Dale reasons he can at least have bragging rights in beating the handicapped racer, leading to this memorable line uttered in the race for sixth place:
I lost…but I can still beat Hank. That’s even better than winning!This line has become a running joke amongst me and my siblings, and we often spout it in times when failure is inevitable but abject humiliation can be avoided by at least beating the opponent directly behind us.
Case in point: when it comes to preparing for long –distance races, I am not the fastest runner. I came in last place in my 8th grade cross-country team. While I no longer bring up the rear, I’m still far from an elite athlete. My goal for every 5K and 10K race is to improve on my personal record (my goal for this summer is to run a sub-35 minute 5K race — see, I told you I wasn’t very fast).
So I enter every race fully aware that I will not win, nor will I place high overall or even in my age or gender categories. But I run because of my mantra: “I can still beat Hank.”
Mind you, Hank isn’t necessarily an actual person (though, I won’t lie — passing people during the last stretch of a long race is very satisfying). Hank is me at my best, the last time I ran.
If I try to set the goal to beat everyone in front of me, well, then that’s always going to be a losing battle. There will always be someone more agile than me, more equipped mentally and physically to succeed, and I will be chasing a goal that will forever allude me.
But…if I run 10K race and finish in 90 minutes, then I can at least work towards the attainable goal of ‘beating Hank’: trying to shave my time down to 1:20 or 1:15. Because I know myself; I can take the necessary steps to achieve this goal and still feel a sense of accomplishment even if I pass no one and all I have to show for my sweaty effort is a participation medal.
Just as you shouldn’t do things to impress or please others, you should find an internal stimulus or inspiration that makes you strive to be a better human every day.
And for me, that will be beating Hank.
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By Sylvie SoulConfession time: I’m a fan of King of the Hill.
In season 5, episode 19 of the series, the eponymous character Hank Hill competes in a lawnmower race. There’s this bizarre plot where Hank discovers he has no buttocks, which comes to a head in the last lap as he struggles to finish the race.
Hank can’t win, and neither can his neurotic friend-slash-neighbour Dale Gribble. Dale reasons he can at least have bragging rights in beating the handicapped racer, leading to this memorable line uttered in the race for sixth place:
I lost…but I can still beat Hank. That’s even better than winning!This line has become a running joke amongst me and my siblings, and we often spout it in times when failure is inevitable but abject humiliation can be avoided by at least beating the opponent directly behind us.
Case in point: when it comes to preparing for long –distance races, I am not the fastest runner. I came in last place in my 8th grade cross-country team. While I no longer bring up the rear, I’m still far from an elite athlete. My goal for every 5K and 10K race is to improve on my personal record (my goal for this summer is to run a sub-35 minute 5K race — see, I told you I wasn’t very fast).
So I enter every race fully aware that I will not win, nor will I place high overall or even in my age or gender categories. But I run because of my mantra: “I can still beat Hank.”
Mind you, Hank isn’t necessarily an actual person (though, I won’t lie — passing people during the last stretch of a long race is very satisfying). Hank is me at my best, the last time I ran.
If I try to set the goal to beat everyone in front of me, well, then that’s always going to be a losing battle. There will always be someone more agile than me, more equipped mentally and physically to succeed, and I will be chasing a goal that will forever allude me.
But…if I run 10K race and finish in 90 minutes, then I can at least work towards the attainable goal of ‘beating Hank’: trying to shave my time down to 1:20 or 1:15. Because I know myself; I can take the necessary steps to achieve this goal and still feel a sense of accomplishment even if I pass no one and all I have to show for my sweaty effort is a participation medal.
Just as you shouldn’t do things to impress or please others, you should find an internal stimulus or inspiration that makes you strive to be a better human every day.
And for me, that will be beating Hank.