DAY
119
“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing but to turn it into glory.”
— William Barclay
Endurance equals victory. Have you ever thought of it that way? You might equate endurance with something that is tedious, boring, and painful. Do you think if endurance is involved the event is going to be long and hard? You may be partially right. But what is the outcome? If you endure, that means you make it through. You win! You’re still standing at the end of the game. Endurance will lead you to glory, so it’s a trait you want to cultivate.
Another great thing about endurance is that it is a real achievement. It is never handed to you. It requires some sort of effort. If you endured something, you took it all the way to the end. You followed through, and you should be congratulated. You did not quit; you did not give up. You continued on to victory.
Is there anything going on in your life today that is unresolved? Is your endurance being tested in any area of your life right now? Write about that specific experience. How do you plan to endure? Imagine how great you will feel when you make it to the conclusion of this part of your journey. What a victory it will be! The outcome doesn’t matter. What matters is that you carried through to the end. You played the game until the final buzzer. That alone makes you a success.
Consider how you can use endurance to turn the hard things in your life into glory. How can you win simply by never giving up? What can you do to make sure you go all the way to the finish line?
DAY
120
“The burden becomes light that is shared by love.”
— Publius Ovidius Naso
All of this talk of endurance makes the road to success sound very arduous, doesn’t it? Are you starting to think that maybe success is not all it’s cracked up to be? Maybe you don’t really want to run a marathon. You’re not built for that kind of test. You prefer short walks to epic adventures.
There is good news for you today. You don’t have to attack this journey in its entirety. Break it down into those short walks. Travel a little bit at a time. You can run this marathon in a series of small jaunts. Take whatever number of miles you can handle in one effort, rest a bit, and then move on. Soon, you will look behind you and realize that you’ve come a long, long way. The only thing you must do is continue moving forward. There is another bit of good news: you have an opportunity to lighten the load you carry. You have already explored how important relationships are to success. Here is your opportunity to share the load through love. Love pumps air into every burden, and suddenly your cargo is as light as a feather.
Do not be stingy with love. Share your love and compassion with others. Lighten their load by giving them a hand, showing empathy, or simply offering a smile or a laugh. The more you love others, the lighter your own load will become. A race that tests your endurance is so much easier when you share the burden with those you love.
Your assignment today is to use love to lighten someone’s load.
DAY
121
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
— Thomas Edison
Health and nutrition will be the topic for the next few days, and this quote by Thomas Edison is a great way to kick it off. There are so many small steps you can take through diet and exercise that will increase your chance of success. Thomas Edison was not the first or only person to believe that nutrition can be used to treat the human frame. That is wonderful news! You don’t have to invest in expensive or painful treatments to improve your health and well being. Just practice making good food choices and incorporating some type of exercise into your routine.
This subject may be stressful for some of you. Maybe food is an ongoing issue in your life; maybe it’s not. Either way, you will probably pick up new and interesting information about yourself during the next week. Take an honest and non-judgmental look at what you put in your body and be willing to consider a few changes. There will not be a weigh-in later on, so don’t get nervous. This is a self-assessment. It’s a chance for you to get honest with yourself about your good and bad nutrition habits.
Your first assignment is to keep a food journal for one week. Get a pocket-size notebook that you can keep with you all the time, and write down every single thing you eat or drink each day. Don’t try to change your habits yet; just observe them. You will have a chance to go back and analyze later. For one week, all you need to do is document what goes into your body.
DAY
122
“Never eat more than you can lift.”
— Miss Piggy
While you are getting your food journal underway, let’s go over a couple of simple rules when it comes to nutrition. Miss Piggy offers the first one. Gluttony isn’t pretty. Try to avoid ridiculous food portions.
Notice the rule has nothing to do with avoiding particular foods. Instead, it suggests that you practice moderation. Most people enjoy pizza once in awhile. No problem! But a large, double cheese, stuffed crust, extra pepperoni every day fills you up with garbage that has nowhere to go but your waistline.
While you are filling out your food journal, think about your portions. Do you tend to supersize it? Or do you stick with pretty modest portions? Do you like to eat until you are so stuffed you can barely get up from the table? Or do you pick at your food and always leave a meal without feeling completely satisfied? Do you find yourself somewhere in between those two extremes?
Go back through your memory and try to remember the best meal you ever had. What did you eat that made you feel so good? Did you feel energized or sleepy, comfortable or stuffed, satisfied or wanting more?
Finally, write about your emotions as they relate to food. What do you eat when you’re sad? What do you eat when you are excited? What time of day do you enjoy food the most? Does food ever make you feel guilty? Is eating enjoyable to you, or is it a necessity that doesn’t provide much pleasure? Explore how you view food.
DAY
123
“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”
— Spanish Proverb
This proverb highlights another simple thought to keep in mind. Take care of yourself, because you are the instrument of your success. If you were a successful mechanic, you would take very good care of your tools, because they help you to succeed. If you were a painter, you would pay special attention to how you store your paints so they don’t dry out. They are your means of expression, so you must make sure they are well cared for. If you were a computer programmer, you would constantly update your computer so it has the best software and the strongest protection from hackers.