“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.”—Jesse Owens
I saw the above meme on Facebook. I get the point that life can be an ongoing struggle, and, just when we think we have seen the peak, we see that the climb continues. My friend, Andy Lausier (head wrestling coach at Davidson Davidson College), would view this as “have to” v. “get to” (for inspiration check out https://www.facebook.com/fromhavetoget/).
This is, indeed, life. However, we choose whether to see it as an ongoing struggle or as an opportunity. Life, no matter how we look at it, is a stimulus for progressive growth.
That “peak” in the meme? When we reach it, we have a choice: we can respond with “Oh, crap!”, like in the meme, or we can breathe a sigh of relief, welcome the momentary break, and continue.
There will be times when what appeared to be a peak (or at least a brief leveling off) turns out to be an illusion. These are the times when we have to push forward. Take a break, if we must, to rest and to contemplate how far we have come, but never quit. Trust in your path. Moreover, trust in your ability to keep going and to complete your journey.
Welcome the moments of relief. Take time to look back at how far you have come. Don’t worry how far you have to go. Just breathe and take the next step in the climb.
Carpe momento!
Image source: https://www.facebook.com/FreebieAl