One More Step

I am really proud of myself.  Except on those occasions where I disappoint myself.  I have spent a great deal of the last 20-30 years acquiring "head knowledge."  Not that I can't still learn new things every day but at this point in my life I know more than enough to be as wildly successful as I want to be according to my definitions of success.  I bet you do to.  Go ahead, give yourself credit.

If we know everything we need to know then it stands to reason that we should have all achieved most of our goals and objectives by now, right?  Neither have I.  Why?  It's a simple question with an even more simplistic answer.  Because we are unwilling to take the final step or two of faith and commitment that leads us to our desired outcomes.  Think about it.  How many times have you been within reach of a goal in your life only to stop short?  I do it all too frequently.  On the occasions where I am willing to pay the price and to venture out of my comfort zone in order to achieve my goal I feel like a million bucks.  You know the feeling too.  When you do something you weren't sure if you could do it inspires you to do more and try more the next time.  Success begets more success. 

I have been running a lot lately.  After many months of doing it at least 4-5 times per week I am running distances and for amounts of time that I never imagined I could do before.  It is exhausting.  And it is exhilarating.  So the end results and the ancillary benefits are well worth the time and effort I am putting in to living a more healthy lifestyle.  That's one of approximately 25 goals on my current radar that I need to work on to be a better.  It feels great to finally reach an important goal but I have a lot more work to do.

What would it take for you and me to pay the price to reach all of our goals?  None of set out to be mediocre.  There are hundreds if not thousands of presumably good reasons to veer off of one thing to spend time on another.  It is easy to justify in our minds why we can't or won't remain steadfast in our pursuit of better things for ourselves and others.  It is well said that the enemy of great is good.

My challenge to you this week is to evaluate your goals.  If you don't have any set aside some time to come up with 2 or 3 goals that if you could accomplish in the next 90 days would have a significant impact on your life.  But then you have to take one more step that most people aren't willing to take.  Commit to the goal.  Every day.  Do one thing that will take you one step closer to reaching your desired outcome.  Just one.  I can't promise you the steps along the way will be easy or without challenges.  I can promise you that you and those around you will be glad you did.