You’re Not Special: Two Steps To A Better Deadlift: And Katy Milkman On Your Next Read

At some point, someone just like us made it. They lost the weight, lifted the barbell, passed the test, and cured the disease.

We hadn’t made it through the warm-up before the tears began to fall.

So it’s to be one of these, I thought.

I wasn’t annoyed or angry; I was deciding the best workout. Sometimes it’s weights, sometimes listening, and sometimes helping athletes discover brutal truths. Coaching isn’t delivering the workout you had planned, but providing the workout the athlete needs.

Her words blended anger and confusion, “I can’t do anything right, my family hates me, and I feel horrible.”

I put myself in her shoes because I practice that more than anything. I thought about what to say if anything.

Once she calmed down and things went quiet for a long time, I said, “Do you think you’re special?”