“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.“
Eleanor Roosevelt
When I used to run for exercise, there were many days I just didn’t feel like running. That probably goes for anyone who is a runner.
Any who has ever felt that resistance can attest, once you got through the first mile or two, you usually felt pretty good and by the time you finished your desired distance, you were proud of yourself and glad you got out and ran.
When I started running longer distances, the anticipation of or lack of excitement to run ebbed and flowed each day as well. On a few occasions of participating in a half-marathon or my one and only full marathon (Columbus Marathon, 2006), the best advice I ever received was from my younger brother, Kevin. Kevin had completed many marathons in the past so he told me, “Don’t focus on the finish line. Just keep running your pace and find one runner up ahead of you and stay focused on them. If you pass them, choose another runner and stay focused on them. Keep doing that and before you know it, you will be at the finish line.”
“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go so long as you don’t stop“
Past the Halfway Point
I have been doing some daily exercises in order to get healthier and, hopefully, lose a little weight. I committed to doing some simple exercises such as 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups each day, as well as walking at least one mile or more each day. I set out on July 1st to do this routine for 100 days.
The first day wasn’t easy…but I did it. The first X went up on the calendar on the wall in my house.
The second day wasn’t easy either…but I got it done. Now I had two X’s and I was suddenly “on a streak.”
By the time I had completed the first week, it still wasn’t easy, but it was easier.
7 down. 93 to go.
It seemed so far away. How was I going to do this every day for 100 straight days?
I recently passed the halfway point. Now the numbers in front are larger than the numbers that follow.
51 down. 49 to go.
I can do this. I crested the hill and now I can gain some momentum as the climb now turns into a descent.
The exercises become easier each day but still deliver the resistance to make them challenging. There are still plenty of days when I wake up and don’t feel like doing the workout but when I push through that moment of hesitation, it feels really good to grab that black Sharpie marker and mark off another X. The streak continues.
What Will Be Your Next Black X?
What’s on your To-Do list? What do you need to put into a daily routine or habit that could help you in your business or personal life?
What are those tasks or activities that you know you need to do but they aren’t always easy to make happen?
Come up with a plan and set a goal. Maybe it’s a week? A month? 100 Days?
Then just wake up on Day 1 and make it happen. That first X will feel good, but the second X will feel even better.
Build relationships. X
Solve problems. X
Have fun. X
I can’t stop now.
