75% Completed - Don't Give Up!
What are you working towards at the moment? Is it a personal goal, a business goal, a relationship or financial goal? At the moment, I have a fitness goal to complete the half marthon at Angkor Watt in early December. In order to do this, I have downloaded a training schedule that gives me a good lead time however, it is pretty full on!
Today, only week 1 and my third run, the training schedule suggests to complete a 12k run! 12ks is not simple for someone like me who likes the fast short distance type of runs, 5ks is perfect for me! At the 9k mark today I wanted to give up! I was exhausted, every part of my body seemed to hurt, my legs were aching, my heart thumping and my body dripping! My mind started playing the negotiating game “come on, 10ks is ok, you can do 12 next week”, my mind started making excuses “10ks is great in this heat, its ok, go home after this last k”! I enteretained those thoughts for probably a whole km until I got to my turn off and despite having no energy I made the choice that I had to talk back to my mind and say “NO, if you can’t do your 12k this week, there is no way you’ll make 14 next week”!
Come on, I am not insane, I know I am not the only one whose mind like to play those little negotiating and excuse games when we are so close to completing the goal set before us.
So today I want to encourage you to look at your goals that you have nearly completed. Not your new goals but the ones that are sitting on your desk that are 75% complete and somewhere along the journey you became exhausted, completing the next 25% went in the too hard basket or the “I will do it next week” pile. Come on, today pick that dream or goal back up again and choose to talk back to your mind and say “NO”, I will complete this next few steps or next few km’s in order to go further next week and reach my goal or dream.
As Dr Seuss says it oh so perfectly in “Oh, The places you’ll go” – don’t give up! (And I recommend if you do not have this book, buy it for yourself and your children, it has plenty of opportunities to teach your children important lessons on failing and succeeding)
Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on y our way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right… or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or the waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for the wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.
NO! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be as famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t Because, sometimes they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike, And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never foget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, You’re off the Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!
The above is from Oh The Places You’ll Go – copyrighted in 1990
