Inspirational, Informative, and General Reading

What counts ....

by Mike Kemski, Founder BANABU Development Systems

When I was out on my run this morning I was really struggling. My lungs were burning and the air felt thin.

After 1 and 1/4 mile I actually had to walk for a minute! (Normally I can run about 3 miles and feel great the entire time)

I thought man if people could see me they would think I was some kind of weak hack.

Gasping for every breath, arms all over the place, with a look of pain and agony on my face running slow and barely past the mile mark!

Right then I realized something very profound.

I realized that even though it may look like I am hardly putting any effort in at all and that it may appear that I was barely even trying to run to the other runners out there, I was reaching inside of me and pulling out all the power I had just to keep moving.

Sometimes we judge others because we hold them to our standards of performance when in reality they are giving everything they have and when someone does that, they are a true champion, regardless of the outcome.

(And it may not be the best they have ever been or as good as you would like to see.)

The biggest distinction I made was that sometimes we do that to others but more often we do it to ourselves.

I was judging myself and beating myself up for not being able to go 2.5 miles without breaking a sweat when really that 1.5 I ran today was harder than the 3 miles I ran on Friday.

It is good to have high expectations and incredible standards for yourself but only for the purpose to keep you in forward momentum.

You should always do your best but when your best falls short of some past results and you start to judge yourself harshly for the results instead of praise yourself for the effort, you start a downward spiral of negative momentum.

How excited do you think I am to go out and run again now that I made myself feel like a weak loser because I was not at my previous best today?

I am not excited at all. In fact, I don't want to feel like that again!

But when I think about how I reached inside of myself and pulled out the champion in me that gave me the power and strength to go another 2 laps when I could have very easily justified stopping, I feel proud of myself.

My posture straightens up, my shoulders go back, my head lifts from my chin, and I know that there is not a force in this universe that can stop me because I conquered the most powerful force there is.

I conquered the only thing that will ever have the power to stop me. The only thing in this universe that can hold me back. I conquered myself!

For those 2 extra laps I became a champion. I reached in and pulled out the best of who I am. I chose not to give up even though it hurt, even though I was discouraged, even though I had some fear.

I gave it everything I had. And it may seem silly because I am talking about running 2 extra laps on a track but this applies to everything in your life and mine.

Base your judgment of yourself not on your results but on the effort you gave.

If you give all you have then you won the game and you are champion no matter how it turns out.

Sometimes you put in every ounce of what you have and it doesn't seem like that much to you.

Only you will know at the end if you gave it everything you had. Only you will know if truly won or not.

It doesn't matter what the outcome is because when you reach inside of you and pull out that piece of you that is a warrior, a champion, a winner, and an achiever, that is when you truly win in life.

This is a simple but incredibly powerful tool to make any and all experiences in your life serve you.

I hope my burning lungs and gasping for air helped open up a distinction in your life about how you can look at your self and your efforts to create a better life.

You win whatever game in life you are playing only when you give your very best effort. To find the champion inside of you, you must look for the champion inside of you.

I know it will make me feel better if that torture can turn into something good for you! ;o)

See Also:

Develop Goals, Visualize, and Get It
Your mind is your mental workshop. You can build anything you want in it. The beginning of your success is in your imagination.

What can I do to succeed?
SUCCESS, beginning now, is entirely on what you do beginning TODAY! Successful people have a future orientation. They are also action oriented not excuse oriented.

A Goal is a Must so is Concentration
Concentration is the magic key that opens the door to accomplishment. Success is the result of well directed energy.

You Can Succeed Even in Failure
Failure is one of the surest stepping stones to success.