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326. Why Out Work

Posted on March 26, 2025March 25, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-03-24 at 9.54.10 PM

Above is my Peloton profile. I've been inspired to write lots of blog posts from Peloton, so if you're not in the mood to read another post based on an inspirational message one of the coaches said, maybe it's time for you to offer to write a guest post. You can base it on whatever you want, and as long as I don't detest your message, I'll publish your ideas.

Here's the line that inspired this post: "Instead of trying to work out, you should try to out work because therein lies the difference between being good and being great." I'm not a super competitive person when it comes to trying to beat others in whatever contests, real or imagined, but I do like to compare my present self to my past self. I like to one-up past Carita whenever I can.

But of course, past Carita was younger than present Carita. She had all of the advantages that come with being youthful and spry. She hadn't been through what my body has been through. Beating her gets more difficult every year. However, if I outwork her, I can outperform her.

For those of you who are competitive against others, do you agree that you're more likely to beat your adversaries if you outwork them? I do.

I wrote this post a while ago, but I thought today would be a good day to remind myself of this idea. I'm heading into what will be one of the busiest seasons of my career, as I will have all of the joy and effort that comes with trying to get the 2025s across the finish line. If I outwork past Carita, I should be able to shepherd them successfully to graduation, right?

Please share your workout and out work ideas in the comments.

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • 337. Why Not Fit In
  • 336. Why SFAH
  • NetGalley Review of The Ripple Effect
  • NetGalley Review of Far and Away
  • 335. Why BYODB
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