My how time flies. We are already in mid-July and enjoying some of the most beautiful weather the summer has to offer. If you are in a locale where this is not the case, then you have my sincere apologies.
For some reason, this time of summer is often considered the halfway point of the season. Astronomically speaking, summer, for most of you reading this who live in the northern hemisphere, begins on June 21st. It’s a rather grand beginning marked by the longest day of the year. Well, really the longest period of daylight, that is. And it ends on September 21st, as the day has surrendered much of itself and vies equally with night for our attention. Well then, using these dates, astronomically speaking, halfway would be approximately August 6th. Why rush things? Why are we so eager to be done with it? It’s probably because we tend to mark a lot of our life activities with events and not by the apparent movement of the sun above or below the celestial equator. And so, Memorial Day and Labor Day, in the states at least, become the confines of our summer revels, making mid-July the halfway point. I really don’t like this way of looking at things, especially my beloved summer.
So often we get into the habit of looking at things and events as though they all have, or need to have, finite beginnings, middles and endings. We get caught up in measuring the progress of something from start to finish, marking each milestone and waypoint, and in the process, lose a little something of the purpose. Don’t I know that? How often have I looked at my own workout and thought, “only so many sets to go?” How often have I looked at my own program, a project or a challenge and said to myself, “halfway there?” I do this all the time when traveling. I love to look at the miles traveled and miles yet to go. It often helps to pass the time.
There is nothing wrong with using a little mental trick or two in order to get us from point “a” to point “b.” What we have to be careful of is not to miss all the little points of interest in between. What we have to guard against, especially in the important areas of our lives, is the idea that we are halfway and that the rest is downhill. If that be the case, I can easily say that unless I live to 120, I am halfway. Halfway to what?
In my training, I can easily say that I am halfway through a workout. I can show you the exact point where I am halfway through a program. But, the one thing I can never quantify is that I will ever be halfway through my training.
There are some areas where there is no halfway, quite simply because, while there may have been a start, there can be no real finish. When are you halfway to learning all that there is to learn? When are you halfway to doing all that there is to do? When are you halfway to loving all that there is to love?
For many of the things we pursue, there is no measuring how far we have come, let alone how far we have yet to go. There is only the ever-receding point in the distance that beckons us. There is no halfway.
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Copyright 2004-2009 John R. Gesselberty. Mahler's Monday Morning Motivators (MMMM) may not be copied or used without permission of the author. All rights reserved.
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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.
You know, last night, I was glanced down at my newbie log and though "oh, I'm halfway through the workout" and immediately perked up. Which was a huge improvement because I was really dragging ass at the beginning. Of course, finishing the sets of deadlifts will really do that to ya.
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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
When I was a runner I useo measure my progress by 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 7/8. Now the end keeps getting moved farther and farther so am slowly trying to educate myself to benefit from the journey.
Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 264 – Halfway
Can't wait to meet this sweet sweet boy!
Linear Mode
