Now this may be the most crazy/random/ridiculous correlation that I have ever drawn between one of my experiences to something that has happened to me recently. So, I'll start with the story of the hammer and then what happened recently and then of course... why any of it matters. Let's talk.So, if you didn't know I was a wrestler once upon a time and I competed at a division 2 school in small town Nebraska. During my time as a competitor every year we had a practice that was around the same time every year.  We knew when this practice was going to happen as after the first year when coach brought us into the center to tell us a story that the story would in fact be "The Hammer Story". It went a little something like this."The other day I was walking down the road doing some casual shopping and out of the corner of my eye I saw a man across the way who was doing something quite weird. As I got closer I could see that he was an older man and he was hitting himself with an object. I eventually saw that he was striking himself quite violently over the head with a hammer. Shocked, I quickly moved on and kept walking as I thought this man was crazy. A few days later I was back walking that same road and yet again I saw this man in the same spot doing the SAME thing. I couldn't help but think what is wrong with him? Why is he doing this? Then again I kept on going and put it out of my mind. Then a few days later I finally decided that I have to talk to this guy. So, I go back and walk that very same road and of course to no surprise I see the same man doing the same thing. Violently striking himself with this hammer over and over again on his head... So I muster up the courage and I walk over and I stop him from swinging and I say sir... I have to ask. I have walked by you a few times and seen you hitting yourself with this hammer. WHY are you doing this? He responds with a a quick and direct answer. Because right now it hurts, but afterwards I feel great."Then following the story we would get a message about how we were going to feel this way after todays practice. Which we would definitely feel the hurt, as we did a multitude of things from push-ups for 30 minutes to repeated drilling of moves until our bodies were at the point of complete exhaustion. Now after this weird story you have to be thinking, what the hell was that?? Just wait... because now I'm going to relate this to school, life, and overall life. I had a student recently come to me after class one day who was a relatively quiet student and didn't speak up much. He gave me some feedback about my style and had requested that we try an exercise about getting more students to present (we only have 45 minutes for a speaking and presentation class with 15-20 students)((we also don't have enough time to talk about teaching and how it works here :) )). So, I thanked him for his feedback and he went on his way. Here's where the connection happens. SIT TIGHT.  :)In true Matt fashion I began overthinking. First with an emotional reaction, doubting myself and my abilities. Then turning to rational thoughts. How do I fix this? How do I be better. How do I become more effective in a short period of time? All from a 30 second conversation!! Resulting in me mulling over ideas and concepts for the next two hours. The lesson here isn't about teaching, or learning, or hitting yourself a hammer. The lesson is simply this. If you don't ask you will never receive. In the hammer story the man would have never found out  why the man was hitting himself if he hadn't asked. The student would have never had me change the class if he had not given me feedback. To me it's not ask and you will receive, it's ask and you "can" receive. There are so many opportunities in life that will continue to remain closed off to you if you never build up the courage to ask. Even when asked or called upon for feedback we often shy away from answering or giving our opinion. So I challenge you to ask, build your confidence to the point that allows you to share. Ask and you can receive, in school, in work, in relationships, in LIFE. We can never find out more about the potential of our capabilities through the concealing of our thoughts or ideologies. Stand up. Build courage. Speak OUT. Ask, so you CAN receive.On purpose,Matt