Thought For The Day #51

Broadcast 2nd of July 2015 on BBC Radio Bristol

It surprises me to say it, but I’ve been inspired by a pogo stick jumper. As you may have heard, Jack Sexty, a 25 year old Bristolian, is jetting off to Philadelphia in America today to compete in Pogopalooza: that’s The World Pogo Stick Championships. There, he will attempt to pogo for longer than anyone else, which will require something in the order of 75 thousand bounces.

When I first heard this story I thought it was a cute gimmick. All I could think of was the neon fashions of the 70s and 80s. Where teens, desperate to be cool, nagged their parents to get a pogo stick, then bounced about for a few weeks, only to forget the stick in the garage to gather dust.

But the more I find out about Jack, the more I realise how much of a serious business it is. I watched him on Youtube complete a marathon on his pogo stick and literally bounce into the record books. The sheer look of determination on his face quickly got rid of any ideas that this was a gimmick. He was focussed and disciplined. And more than anything else he wanted it. He wanted to conquer the challenge he’d set himself. Pogo sticks or not, there are very few times in my life that I’ve wanted something as much as that. It made me realise that desire and passion in any form are inspiring and infectious.

I think if we’re honest we all know something about the monotony of bouncing. Day after day, we spring out of bed with the hopes of something different, only to land back on the ground for yet another day at the grindstone. Yet it’s precisely in this monotony that we achieve our goals, one day or one bounce at a time.