We all go about our days doing this and that. Most of what I do is easy but some of it is hard. I rarely choose to do what's hard but when I do, the easy things are so easy!
Possibilities
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who has run countless marathons. When she first started training, she found it fun to push herself to do speed work. Why would you push yourself to an uncomfortable place? What would that do for you?
What I Realized
After pondering my friend’s comment, I decided that it would be fun to challenge my body too. My friend said she would run fast between telephone poles. Well, I thought that won’t be too hard. On my next run, I ran faster for a couple of blocks at a time. This is what I discovered:
- My muscles hurt like never before, but just for the time I was running
- When I slowed down after pushing myself, it was so much easier!
- It was worth the push to feel the ease and comfort of slowing down
What Have Your Decided?
Would you be willing to run a marathon? Before you pull out your excuses involving your knees, hips, weight, etc. . . , just answer the question. If the answer is no, what else are you NOT willing to do? What else have you decided that you will NOT do? *
Challenge
I challenge you to entertain the thought of a goal beyond what you have ever believed you could do. There are so many things we limit in our lives because we don’t believe we can handle it. Ida Keeling at 100 years old (video) said, ‘Get up and do things, even if you don’t feel like. Do the thing that you don’t like to do first, and get rid of it.’
When do the hard stuff first we are done with it and can go on to easier tasks. The other thing that happens is that pretty soon the stuff that used to seem hard, now is easier. We build a bigger pool of stuff that isn't hard at all.