{New York City Marathon fans supporting the .1%}
"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." ~Confucius
You are ready to go, maybe you've even started to follow through on some of the actions you promised to take to fulfill your plan. This week we will discuss the final element you need to succeed.
My son, Matthew...Matt to his friends, runs marathons. He gets up every morning at 4:00 to run. He runs in the rain, he runs in the cold, he runs when he is tired and he runs when he is stressed. Each season Matthew puts together a training plan and when he travels out of town he maps out his morning run the night before. In short, Matthew is dedicated to running and puts his effort into making it a rewarding experience.
When he first started running, I believed he did so because he loved to run. My logic was that he runs through rain, cold, physical exhaustion and stressful periods of his life because he just plain LOVES running. But as I listened to him talk to other runners and watched him train for a race, I learned that he, like all the non-runners, would like to stay in bed when the temperature dips or he stays up later the night before than usual. But he gets up and runs. Why, because he has the will to follow through on his plan. He has the will to take action each day that will result in his crossing the finish line at the next race.
You now have a plan to live your life more in line with your vision and stated values; you want to be more intentional about how you live your life. So what is the spark that means success? Will. A true four letter word. It means following through with the actions you have outlined even though you may be tired or stressed. It means mustering the will to go forward even on those days when you just plain don't want to do so.
There are two reason why it is important to "will" yourself through the process:
1. Will is like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will get. Conversely, the more you allow it to lie dormant, the more it will entropy. A strong will can see you through the hard and uncertain times.
2. As your will sees you through one challenge and then the next, you will come to understand that you can shape your life. You will come to each experience stronger and positively because of your past success.
You may wish, want, need, or desire a certain outcome but unless you use your will to obtain that outcome, it will only remain a dream. You can live your priorities because you have the will to do so.
Get caught up on the entire Intentional Living series:
- Week 1: The Importance of Taking Time to Think
- Week 2: Asking the Right Questions
- Week 3: What is working in your life?
- Week 4: Do you have your priorities straight?
- Week 5: Are you moving forward?
- Week 6: Setting Lifetime Priorities
- Week 7: Decision Time
- Week 8: Planning
- Week 9: Review
- Week 10: Four Reasons Why
- Week 11: Are You Being True to Yourself?
- Week 12: Self Realization
- Week 13: Sharing Your Vision