The FIVE Mile Race!!!!!

Imagine signing up for a 5 mile race that you prepared months for. You are hyped and know that you will master the race. You stand at the starting point and do a few stretches. You overhear others talking about their fears of not finishing and not preparing enough. You laugh because you know that you are more than ready. The gun goes off and you start off strong. You speed pass a little girl in a cute little pink tutu, with an adorable sign that says I heart #143. About a minute later you see a cute little girl in a little pink tutu with a sign that says I heart #143. Another minute passes and you are still running and you see the same thing. Then you realize that you are passing the same thing over and over. You aren’t getting ahead because you race forward only to be thrown back further. You are motivated and you don’t want to give up, so you work harder and harder to finish the race. You see those who didn’t prepare as much in front of you, and you just don’t understand. Then all of a sudden, when you are on the brink of sitting out of the race, you get a boost of energy and you finish the race. This is exactly how life can be when trying to accomplish goals or move forward in situations.

I think most of us can say that we are all works in progress, and we are not where or what we want to be. Some days we take a step forward only for something to happen and it seems that we take 100 steps back. It seems that you will never get to that end of the bumpy, twisting and winding, long road. Although the road seems endless, trust me, you are making some progress. The progression may seem mediocre to you, but it is beneficial. Very often we rush things or make comparisons to other people’s lives or progression. We must learn to focus on ourselves and learn to appreciate our obstacles. Our obstacles build us up. Each time we fall we should always get up and push forward. Getting up and moving forward builds stamina and strength. It gets us further down the bumpy road. Even if we have to start over ten times, each time we get further, and one day we will reach the end.

I am speaking from personal experience. I am not close to being where I aspire to be. I have so many goals and dreams that I think about daily. Some days I feel enthusiastic about them, and some days I feel defeated. Honestly, the defeated days seem to outweigh the enthusiastic days. I am my worst critic, and I often question the methods I have taken, and if I should choose other ways or options, but something in me doesn’t allow it. Today was one of those defeated days and it was mentally, physically, and emotionally crippling. For the life of me, I just couldn’t understand why things weren’t happening. Just like the person in the race, I had prepared (OVER PREPARED), and it seems that I am seeing the same little girl and sign every few minutes. Today, I was at the point of saying okay, let’s try something else, but I realize that things aren’t that bad. I am confident that things will turn around. I am confident that my hard will pay off. Although I can’t see it, feel it, hear it, smell it, or even imagine it, I know that the end of the race is near.

So, I encourage you to put on the biggest smile and each time you pass that cute little girl with the pink tutu and adorable sign, waive and say that the end is near, and you are not giving up.