The alarm sounds and you are jolted into a half awakened state by its insistent drone. You reach over to turn it off, controlling the urge to pulverize it into an unrecognizable heap on the nightstand. Perhaps you hit the snooze alarm for that extra ten minutes of waking death that is never as satisfying as you convince yourself that it will be. It’s still dark outside and you wonder to yourself why your world has to come to life in the shadows like some creature of the night out of one of those old horror movies. You half expect to look in the mirror and see a set of fangs dripping with blood from your nocturnal pursuits. Well, not really, but the rank taste in your mouth makes the illusion plausible. In the gloom you hear the rain pelting the windowpane and you think that this is just what you needed to complete an otherwise lousy beginning to your day and bring the misery to a peak of perfection. The urge to use your favorite expletive of choice, roll over, pull up the covers and forget the whole thing is one that is hard to control.
Yes, just getting out of bed in the morning can be a challenge. But, it is a challenge you overcome time and again, morning after morning, unless you are independently wealthy or you don’t mind losing your job, your home, your family and taking up residence in a cardboard box where there are no alarm clocks. Keep in mind, there are no beds or windows, either and the rain doesn’t really care.
This is just the beginning, however. Your day, and indeed every day begins with and is made up of little challenges. We don’t often think of them in that way, but our work, our family obligations, dealing with friends and neighbors, just about every aspect of our lives is a series of challenges. These challenges tell us what has to be done, what is necessary to make it through our day and we either choose to accept the challenge and do it or we find ourselves in an endless loop of procrastination, passing the buck and making excuses. Challenges are a part of life and are not to be ignored, at least not for long. But, these challenges are, for the most part, imposed on us by the life we have chosen and we, more or less, have become accustomed to overcoming them. We have made a habit of it.
There are other kinds of challenges, however, that are not imposed on us by our chosen profession or state in life. These are the challenges that are not mandatory and therefore are somehow more meaningful because in a real sense we can choose not to accept them with little or no recognizable consequence. These are self-imposed challenges. They are the ones that we set for ourselves to improve somehow in mind, body or spirit. And these are the challenges that we don’t overcome blindly, but plan for and work toward methodically.
Often the greatest challenges we will face are those that we set for ourselves and for which we are accountable only to the person we see reflected in the mirror each morning. Personal challenges do not take us from one day to the next, but more often from life to living.
PS: Many of you have accepted the 61 Day Challenge to somehow improve your lives, your health, your sprits. My very best to you all in your quest.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Have a Great Week!
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__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
"Focus on making the 5 lifts stronger and getting enough food. There will be plenty of time to worry about glycemic indexes, PERs, and Bulgarian Split squats later. Much later."-Mark Rippetoe
Great motivator - reminds me of your # 150. Both really are inspiring
__________________
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Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
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There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
"Personal challenges do not take us from one day to the next, but more often from life to living."
Another top-notch Mahler quote. Thanks!!
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Another excellent post Mahler! Your point really hits home this week.
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
Hopefully it won't have to be that way tomorrow morning.
__________________ "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood..."
Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 168 – Challenges
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