We have all done it at some point in our lives. We have not pursued doing something because we knew in our minds it was not possible, so why try. What has it been lately? Do you have any regrets for not trying or wonder what it would be like if you had tried and succeeded?
We are sometimes the biggest obstacle for us to overcome to reach our potential. I wanted to write a book on leadership since I was in my mid 20s. I would start to write it and then stop because I knew in my mind that I could not write a book. Several years later, I would start again and then stop because of that same voice in my head. I attended a workshop around 2009 where the speaker asked us the group who had a dream that they had not pursued because they felt like they would not be successful. I spoke up and said that I had wanted to write a book and be a motivational speaker. When she asked me what was stopping me, I had to admit that it was me that was getting in my way.
I remember how it started to flow together. I prayed before going to bed one evening and asked God if I should even pursue my writing since I could get an outline down, but the words were not flowing like they should. I woke up in the middle of the night with the phrase faith based leadership on my mind. It was then that I realized that the reason I was so passionate about the leadership traits that I was writing about was because they could be traced back to my religious beliefs. I decided at that point that I would pursue my dream and in less than two years, I had published my first book. Faith Guided Leadership.
Philippians 4:13 says that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I knew this verse, but had not really applied it fully in my life. I would convince myself that things were not actually possible. At 53 years old, I decided to train for a half marathon. I had never ran more than a mile in my life, so the thought of 13.1 miles was daunting. I kept asking God to stay with me through it and to give me strength. I suffered from bad knee pain after about 8 miles of just walking, let alone running. I managed to complete that race even though I had an unrelated shoulder surgery 9 days prior to race day.
Friends of mine asked me if the next thing on my bucket list was to run a full marathon. I told them that I did not have any interest and that my body could not handle the 26.2 mile distance of the marathon. Fast forward to less than a year later and I was running in my first marathon. You can read about how I was able to accomplish that in my book, A Marathon Journey; Lessons in Goal Setting. I no longer doubt my potential as long as I have faith. This past month, I turned 58 years old and ran my 5th full marathon. I do not have any pain in my knees even after that distance.
My Lenten journey this year is to become a better person. I started out telling God what kind of person that I would like to be. I believe that I was limiting my potential based on my own mind. I pray that God will give me the strength to become the person that He wants me to be. I would like to also give thanks to my wife for planting that seed in my mind. She is such a blessing in my life.
Tell me about the thing that you would like to pursue, but have gotten in your own way. Are you ready to turn it into an accomplishment?
