A Smooth Sea

All too often, when the going gets tough, we quit. Think about it...we live in a society where it is easier to give up than work to do something we want to do. It happens around us every day. How many people are still going to the gym, even though their New Year's resolution was to do just that? We are only 66 days into 2013 and look how many people have already given up.

We give up on relationships and friendships and marriages and losing weight and quitting smoking and reading and watching less television and exercising and volunteering and learning languages and going back to school and cooking more and applying for new jobs and changing careers and saving money and organizing and cleaning and honesty and drinking less and doing more and writing and creating and anything else we claim we want.

Lean into the pain. Embrace frustration and difficulty. Cope with stress. Enjoy the challenge. Just don't quit as soon as the going gets tough. There will still be times you should move beyond whatever you are doing, but the reasons should be more and better than it being tough.

The difficult things are usually the most important in life.

If You Really Want To Do Something...

How did the first week of 2013 treat you? We're a week in and I haven't started to focus on any of my goals. This is the first blog post I have started to write. I haven't run. I haven't read much. I haven't made the time to do the things I need to do to succeed this year. Many people (and the person I was for many years) would throw up their hands, become frustrated and give up because they couldn't get started doing what they needed to do. They would quit without even really trying. We can't give up that easily.

I could also make excusing about why I didn't do what I needed to do. Work has been crazy and I have been putting in ten to twelve hour days. Even on my days off, I get phone calls from work (the last time I didn't get a call or text from work was while I was out of the country). By the time I get home, I am usually fairly tired and want nothing more than to relax with my wife. Friends were in town for some of this week and we had guests staying at our house. There were other things I had to get done around the house.

All of that is true, but none of it really matters. There are tons of people who work more hours and still find time to start a business, write a novel, go to school, learn a language, write a successful blog, invent something or do any number of things that many of us don't. Many people have responsibilities, commitments and schedules that keep them amazingly busy, but they find ways to chase their own dreams and goals. There are people who are able to do way more with way less.

Don't accept the reasons you try to give yourself for why you aren't doing what you want to be doing. They are excuses and nothing more. If you want to accomplish a goal, you can find ways to do it. No one else is going to hold you accountable...you have to hold yourself accountable. Maybe you get up an hour earlier. Maybe you go to sleep an hour later. Maybe you just schedule time into your hectic calendar and stick to your appointments to run or read or write or learn. Do it on breaks at your other job. We can find a way to do the things we really want to do.

Are the goals you set important to you? Think honestly about them...at one point they were important enough to set as goals. If you are able to work on them, would you still want them as a goal? If so, then figure out how to succeed. Decide what needs to be done and then work on doing it. If you need more time to train or learn or practice, then make more time. You have control over your life, if you choose to take control. No more excuses. We can either make the time and put in the effort or we can give up. I know I don't want to give up. Do you?

The Only Thing Stopping You...

Today kicks off the pomp and spectacle known as the London Olympic Games. No matter what you think of the Olympics and everything going on, you have to stop and think about many of the athletes competing. For most, this will be one of, if not the biggest event in their life. They didn't get to the Olympics by accident. They made it to the Olympics by working harder than the rest of us at what they do.

These athletes put in the work. They trained day in and day out, often for many, many years. They had a dream, but one that wasn't easy to reach. They had goals, but goals most of us wouldn't have the discipline to obtain. They perform in ways many of us could never imagine. They put in hours of work many of us can't fathom. These athletes shouldn't be put on pedestals based on what they can do, but instead should be celebrated for what they have done to get to where they are.

While most of us will never be athletic enough to even have a chance to compete at the Olympics, we must choose to emulate their dedication. It's not the fame or the glory that will last for them, it is the knowledge they chased and dream and grabbed hold. They didn't let "real life" stop them from chasing what they wanted. They don't make excuses to not do the work. They took whatever life threw at them and continued to chase down their dream. They believe in themselves and push hard to accomplish their goals.

Yes, some are gifted with genes to help them become amazing athletes. Yes, some are given chances many other people don't have. But, they still have to put in the work to accomplish their dreams. They have to focus. They have to believe. They have to dream big dreams. They have to put in more work than we can even imagine. They have to give up a lot of other things. They have to choose to be great. They have to have the drive to push through. They have to be passionate. They have to work their ass off.

What dreams do you have? How much work do you put in to reach them? What is your Olympics?

The only thing stopping you is you.

What Will You Give Up?

Where will your path lead?

There are lots of people (myself included) who will stress the importance of chasing your dreams. We talk about why you should chase them and how it will help you lead the life you are supposed to lead. Most of these people leave out the part about having to give up other things in order to chase your dreams. For some, this may be an obvious fact, but to others, this may come as a surprise.

In some cases, you will know exactly what you will need to give up. If you want a dream career and you start chasing it, you will have to give up the job your currently have. If your dream involves getting in better shape to do something, then you will have to give up some of the food your currently eat. Obvious, right? But, to get in better shape, you will also have to exercise a lot more, which means you have to give up something to have the time to do this. Will it be watching TV or some sleep or reading or going out with friends? For everything we decide to do, we will be giving up things.

If you want to be a great writer, then you need to write every day. Most of us don't have tons of time we are looking to fill in our days, so something has to be given up. The same is true with any dream requiring practice (and the vast majority do). These decisions aren't always easy, either. When we have been doing anything for a period of time, it is difficult to give it up to start something else. What are you willing to give up to chase your dreams? Money? Sleep? Friends? Hobbies? TV?

You may look at the previous list and think you wouldn't have to give up your friends to chase your dreams. Once you start chasing them, you will realize there are people who just don't understand the new direction you are taking. There are other people who feel slighted because you aren't spending as much time with them because you are chasing your dreams. Some people will drift out of your life, but the true friends will still be there, even when you don't speak with them for extended periods. When you start chasing your dreams, you start moving down a path you haven't followed before. You will never see what is along this path until you start moving down it.

No one ever said chasing our dreams is going to be easy and many of us didn't realize we would have to give up so many things in order to chase them. They wouldn't be real dreams if they were easy, now would they? The greatest things in life are often the hardest to get. To chase your dreams, you will have to make some tough decisions. You will have to stop doing some things you enjoy doing. Some people will be unhappy. These are your dreams...what's stopping you from chasing them?