There are some goals that require some motivation to attain, things like losing weight, saving money, quitting smoking or becoming a runner. These things are tough. They aren't accomplished in 24 to 48 hours and no magic pill is going to carry you easily to the end. In fact the secret to the magic pill lies in the small print "For best results use with Diet and Exercise regimen". How about you save the 48.95 and just do the diet and exercise regimen? No, these things take time, discipline and resolve. Starting is easy. What's tough is getting back up after you've been knocked down. It's continuing to fight when you feel defeated.
They say it usually takes about 6.1 attempts at quitting smoking before you actually quit. I'd have to say that sounds about right. It took me at least 19 over the course of 5 years before I finally won. That was a long fight, but I won. I can't tell you how many times I quit... buying... in that span of time or how many full packs of cigarettes I chucked out the window after saying "No more!" only to pull into the gas station to get a new pack on my way to work the next morning. Oh, I got knocked down a lot. Then there was the fight with weight loss. That was a 30 round fight. I got smacked around by cheese burgers, pizza, hot dogs and fries, soda pop and cookies. I'd lose 10 and gain back 15. To get back up after a Big Mac attack was tough.
The key is you have to get back up. You have to finish, but you are going to get knocked down along the way. Let me say that again you are going to get knocked down along the way. The important thing is to not quit. It's all about finishing. If you get knocked down 100 times you get back up 101 times. If you are going the wrong way you make a U-turn. You only fail if you quit.
My wife, Stephanie, has been a great inspiration to me over the past year. First she had knee problems that slowed her training. Then she had an equilibrium problem after a winter cruise in Feb that lasted until the end of April. Near the end of May she fell while rollerblading hit her head and messed up her equilibrium again. Each of those incidents completely side lined her for several months. She was finally back on track running again by September and worked her way up to completing her first half marathon in October while training for an upcoming marathon in January. By early December she was dealing with knee problems again. It was cold and snowy outside and she managed 15 and 18 miles on the treadmill. In January the marathon rolled around and never completing the 20 mile training run she new she wasn't in the best position to run a full marathon. Let me take a moment for a side bar here. I've heard people say they are terrified of being last in a race like a 5K or 10K or even a half marathon. During the marathon officials came up to her, she was dead last, and told her if she didn't catch up to the group about a minute in front of her she would be removed from the course and this was at mile 20! Imagine being yanked off the course at mile 20 in a 26 mile race! Suddenly finishing last in a race doesn't sound so bad to me. Being kicked out... I don't even want to think how I would have handled that news. I would have quit, but she didn't. She got knocked down and she got back up again. She caught up to that pack and passed a bunch of them. She hurt. She was tired. She cried. She wanted to be done. Finally after 7 hours and 12 minutes she crossed the finish line. Do you have that kind of resolve?
I'd like to tell you her story has a happy ending, but it doesn't. She got knocked down again. That race really did some damage to her knee. It's now April and after some physical therapy she is finally able to start running and training again. She challenged herself to a 10K that she knew she would have to run/walk the whole race. She knew she would probably finish last, but she got back up again and finished that race nearly last, but it didn't bother her. She finished.
Life is tough. Nobody breezes through without falling down. Just remember it's about finishing. To reach your goal you gotta finish. You don't have to be first you just have to finish.
If you get knocked down, just get up again:
