Friday, June 6, 2014

It's all in your head.

Too far...too heavy...too much...

These are the mantras of the quitter. Now, don't get me wrong. I realize that there are people who possess certain handicaps that hamper them in many ways. Yet, every day you turn on the news and hear about a guy with one finger playing concert piano or that 87-year-old lady who just ran her first marathon.

The reality is that accomplishment resides in desire.If you WANT something, then you can make it happen. The key is to work at it every single day and commit yourself to it completely. It is not about if you do this one thing and are the best or fastest or whatever...it is simply a matter of if you REACH the goal.

You have to start with small attainable steps that lead you to that finish line. Stop telling yourself what you CAN'T do...my grandmother used to say, "Can't couldn't do a thing." Even more important DO NOT LET OTHERS TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN'T DO. More often than not, they don't want you to succeed because then it will diminish their own self-worth. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on. Cut out the negative people like you would weeds in a garden.

Just as important...allow yourself to have setbacks. Very rarely does everything go according to plan. That is life. It is okay to stumble. The key is to get up just one more time than you fall.

So...start today. And declare it publicly. There are studies that show a person is more apt to reach a goal if they let others know about it. It adds a sense of accountability or some such nonsense.

My goal is to run a half-marathon distance (just over 13 miles) be the end of summer, and to participate (and finish) in a half-triathalon by next summer. So what is your goal?

5 comments:

  1. Oh…oh…I just finished DEAD: CONFRONTATION. Loved my namesake character. What an honor. Thank you.

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    1. Well I am glad you like her...(minor spoiler) wait until you see what she does in Reborn, Darkness Before Dawn...and then Spring (which comes out in July)--the spoiler being that at least you know she is around for the next couple of books.

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  2. Well durn, my other comment did not post. User error, probably. What it said was this:

    My goal is to finish reading Peri 2 on my kindle and make a list of possible issues (there's something, and I can't put my finger on it) by Monday night. Doing this is the midst of contractors getting my house ready for sale, so I am slow like Christmas.

    As for the half-marathon, you can totally do this. I used to run 11 miles every Sunday morning. Just work up to it gradually and figure out where any new pain is coming from before it becomes a crippling issue. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks for the words of support, and I can't wait to hear how Andy voices "your" character!

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  3. Wait...these are real people I'm voicing? Oh my god I have about a hundred apologies to write, don't I...

    (Catie FWIW I had a lot of fun trying to make your character as awesome as she could be please don't turn on your capslock at me.)

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