A Giraffe’s Guide to Business
I’m the Anti-Simone Biles.
This is not to say I dislike her – she is an amazing, record-shattering athlete. I watched her throughout the recent Olympics and was blown away each time.
This is to say that I have the coordination of a newborn giraffe and the athleticism of a sloth. Running and twirling in the air is more like tripping and breaking toes for me. So it was with trepidation that I enrolled in a Pilates studio about three years ago.
If you’re not familiar with Pilates, it was invented by Joseph Pilates in 1926 as a body-conditioning workout. You can do mat Pilates which, like it sounds, is you plus a mat plus bending into very uncomfortable positions all in the name of core work. There is also reformer Pilates; a reformer is a moving bed of sorts that uses springs for resistance. At first glance, the reformer resembles something you’d find in a Medieval dungeon. And, after some workouts, you may well feel like you were just tortured.
I try to take four Pilates classes a week and each time I feel like I’m in the special group, aka, the people who are not coordinated and have terrible balance. The instructors know they have to keep an eye on me so I don’t fall, crash, hyperextend, etc. They’re so sweet and try to help me, but I’m hopeless. I am and shall always be a newborn giraffe crossed with a sloth.
Still, I keep going. I keep going even though I’m always afraid my next class will be the one where I fall off the reformer or, worse, break the reformer. Or fart. I think much of Pilates core work comes from suppressing one’s farts for a full 50-minute class.
So why do I keep going? No, it’s not because I’m hoping to achieve a “Pilates body.” That is definitely not in the cards for me. I keep going because I know Pilates is good for me, but also because I don’t want to give up. My difficulties have inspired me to push through, even when I’m sure I’ll be the first plank-related fatality.
In Pilates – and in my career — I’ve learned to keep trying and to maintain a positive attitude when facing setbacks. I’ve learned to laugh at, but not disparage, myself over mistakes. Rather, I make the most of it and learn from what didn’t go well. My attitude is ‘keep learning, keep growing.’
And you know what? This “giraffe-sloth hybrid” approach to Pilates has taught me more about succeeding in business than any MBA program ever could. (Apologies to my MBA alma mater, The Eller College of Management.) Just like in Pilates, the corporate world is full of moments where you feel like you’re about to face-plant in front of everyone. But here’s the secret: nobody’s watching that closely, and if they are, they’re probably just impressed you showed up.
So, my advice to all you aspiring business giraffes out there? Embrace your wobbliness.
In the end, success comes down to one thing: showing up consistently, even when you’re convinced you look ridiculous. So, keep at it, my fellow uncoordinated entrepreneurs. After all, in the jungle of commerce, it’s not always the swift cheetahs who win – sometimes it’s the persistent, slightly wobbly giraffes who reach the highest branches of success.
Romi Carrell Wittman 
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