~Ella Williams
Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember,
The hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart
Start upward
And climb ’til you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it,
And you have the faith to believe.
For faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill,
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God’s wisdom and will.
For faith is a mover of mountains,
There’s nothing that God cannot do,
So, start out today with faith in your heart,
And climb ’til your dream comes true!
--Author Unknown
Today, I got beat up by my workout--and I only was told to do HALF of what was called for. Here is what was called for: "Do this as fast as you can--1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats (body weight), 1 mile run."
I did half of each of those. On my final half mile run, my legs were jellied, my lungs were on fire, my arms/shoulders/etc. were hard to keep up, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I walked 1/4 of that 1/2 mile. But as I approached the turn around spot to head back to the gym, I thought, "I could just cut this a few yards short. It wouldn't be a big deal..." Then I thought about something I read that Will Smith said about when he goes for a run, "when I go out/say I'm going to run 5 miles, I run 5 miles. Because if I listen to that voice in my head, I'll never finish it EVER..." So I thought to myself..." shut up voice in my head." Then I thought about what Seone from the biggest loser said durning a recent challenge when asked if everybody would be willing to stop the challenge where they were instead of finishing. He said, "you all do what you want, but I would feel like I would be cheating myself. I have been cutting short my whole life, that's why I'm here, that's why I'm fat. So, I'm going to finish..."
So I finished. I went all the way to every line. I did every thing that was asked of me. I had to change my attitude. We might not be in control of everything in life, but we most certainly control that. Choose to be grumpy and miserable, and that is what your life will be like. Choose to be happy in those exact circumstances, and you life will not remotely resemble that former life of misery--even amidst the same situations.
Push through defeat.
Push through change.
Push through self-pity and doubt.
It's rewarding, and besides, that is the only way to win the race.
7 comments:
That's cool. I like the quotes you put on here. :) Go get 'em Tiger!
Seriously, you are very motivating! Loved your sentiments, I could totally relate to that inner voice telling you to cut corners.
I fell .5 miles into our 5.5 mile run and sprained my ankle pretty good, the inner voice said "Oh your injured you should just quit." I knew this was a crappy choice, and that I needed to dig deep and find the fortitude to carry on. Dixie even ran the last 2 miles along side me, subtly increasing my pace.
We can do way more than we give ourselves credit. Thanks for sharing your revelations. Your blog was my motivation to sign up for the tri sprint.
It is strange to have a huge portion of life being a fitness powerhouse, then have life and responsibilities put that on the backburner.
We start to forget the fuel, drive, and ability inside! We still feel like that same person who was so successful, but look in the mirror and a few of the physical manifestations of that fortitude, and diligence have dimmed.
It is invigorating to unlock that door to the world we loved and embraced and realize we can have both. We realize we miss it and it is well within us to fuse the true joys of the current world with the world of physical success and fitness snd we must to achieve ultimate happiness.
Sorry for such a long comment. :)
great.....really really great! Thanks for putting down in written words the thoughts you were thinking and feeling. They will help lots of people....mostly me! Love you!!!
I loved this post, Porter. I too have been listening to that stupid voice in my head for way too long. Every single time I start a workout within the first 10 minutes that voice tells me that I already want to quit. That I shouldn't work that hard. That I don't need to push myself. But when I don't listen, and I get past that beginning and push myself, I feel so much better at the end! When I was on the race this weekend we talked about that, and every one of the people I ran with (and they're all marathon runners) said they all go through the exact same thing. It's a mental game. And we have to beat that stupid little voice to win it! GREAT POST!
I was gonna comment that I wanted to have all my triathlon girls read this, but apparently they have already read it and been motivated by you. Great post Porter! I love it and I have had many of the exact same thoughts. I don't want to cheat myself...why would we ever want to do that? You the man. :)
I kinda wish we could cuddle right now...but that would be a bit odd...
Such a motivating post! I printed it off and shared it with my anything-but-motivated-in-a-positive-way class! They had an "aha" moment for exactly a moment -- then went right back to their old habits! I'll keep reminding them however, and I'm sure between your post and my sharing of it, we'll whip these little future leaders into super positive achievers! I can only hope. Seriously, it was a great post and every seed of good I can plant in their heads is awesome. Thanks.
Mom
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