Today, I didn’t want to, But did it anyway.

 One of the biggest discussions I have had with successful people and those that continue to stay disciplined, no matter what their profession, specialty or passion is, is what they do when they don’t feel like doing whatever it is they need to do or know they should do. The most common response and even in my own life is that they do whatever it is whether they want to do it or not. 

Success, in no matter what areas you want to succeed in life many times will involve doing things you don’t feel like or don’t want to do.  I’ll use myself as an example.  Today, I am at work, at the fire station, day 4 of 5 at work, working 120 hours before I go home in total.  Today, we had hose testing and training at the station and a ride-along (granted it was my son, but an extra person nonetheless).  It was a busy day.  I didn’t feel like working out, walking for an hour, lifting and moving my body.  So after lunch, I completed my reports and went to the treadmill and walked for an hour, and I didn’t want to.  I stepped on the treadmill, and took one step after another and soon, an hour had past.  I had walked the three miles I  try to get in every day and had watched a show while doing so.  Instead of settling down and resting for a bit, I walked.  Then, after further training, and running calls, when I was tired mentally, and physically from being day 4 at the station, i sat down for a second.  I forced myself to get up, head into the station gym and started lifting weights,  Low and behold, I went harder than just going through the motions and got a great lifting session in.  

My why- it guides me.  Even on days I don’t want to do it, I do it.  Even if it means just going through the motions, I do it.  Even if I am tired, exhausted, overwhelmed, under rested, I do it.  I may not go as hard, I may not go as fast, I may not go as long, but I do it.  I do it because I want to be healthy for my family.  I do it because I have a 3 year old grandkid that requires me to run around for her spurts of excitement. Lil do it because I want to be around for my family for a long time.  I do it because the why is bigger than me.  

One of the things I have learned is to allow myself some grace.  I used to be intense about everything, and now I am intentional.  Successful people are intentional in their actions, but they take action.  It doesn’t matter how large or how small as long as you are taking action towards your dream, goal, desires.  No matter what they are.  Watch the patterns of successful people.  Watch how they work when they are tired, when they are energetic, when they are stressed, overwhelmed, underappreciated.  They are crazy enough to believe in their dream, passion, desire, their PURPOSE that they continually work towards it, even when they don’t want to. 

YOU have the power within you to make what you want become a reality.  It simply takes action, many times even when you don’t want to do it.  

• Don’t want to get out of the warm bed, do it anyway.
•  Don’t want to workout today, do it anyway

• Don’t want to read that book today?  Do it anyway. 

•  Don’t want to study today? Do it anyway.
• Don’t want to make that phone call?  Do it anyway 
• Don’t want to deal with the challenges?  Do it anyway. 

Whatever it is in your life that will progress you towards the life you envision, Do it whether you want to do it or not.  You’ll thank yourself later.  

     

Life is a Highway- And we are the drivers......

You know, Chris Le'Doux Said it best when he said "Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long".  Well as I have been travelling more and more, I find truly that Life, is a highway and much life the highway, how we drive our cars can dictate how we might live in many areas of our lives.  I have spent many countless hours in my car on trips to Los Angelas, San Francisco, Fresno, and pretty much everywhere in between and especially as I am travelling with my kids this month, I am paying attention more and more to the way people drive.

Think about for a moment all the types of drivers there are in life.  And realize there is ABSOLUTELY no science behind this, just my observation.  There are angry aggressive people who dodge in and out of traffic cutting others off, without a care as to whether they cause bodily damage to any one else, taking extreme risks and cutting it close all the time ( High Risk takers... sometimes in life these risks are too extreme???).  There are people who get in a crowd of traffic, and work their way through the traffic but in a consistent and calculated manner and are cautious of other people and the "Space" around their vehicle.  They eventually pull away from the crowd in success to reach their destination a little ahead of schedule.  (these are calculated risk takers in life)  there are those who pull in to the fast lane when traffic is moving faster than them and just SIT THERE blocking traffic from proceeding behind them all the while acting as if there is no care in the world (Know anyone like this in your life.. an obstacle, or a challenge to go around or "deal" with"?)   there are those who kick it in the slow lane and watch the rest of traffic pass them by. (Maybe someone who allows life to control them rather than the other way around).  there are then the motorcycles who speed up in between you in traffic who make their own way (maybe someone who is blazing their own trail with calculated risk).  Each type of driver there is out there can represent some area of our lives.  And i say some area because this is how I see it:

We are all drivers on our own highway of life.  But along the way there are lane changes, traffic jams, slow people, fast people, exits, turns, curves, mountains, etc.  How we drive in each of these situations may very well be a representation of how we live our life.  We all have the road we are travelling paved with it's own stuff.  It is our decision on how to drive our highway much like it is our decision how to drive in a highway full of others whom are in control of their own car and lives.  It was so clear to me when I was coming back to Fresno the other day that each of us, we have to recognize that our highway is ours but we have to look at how our highway is guiding us and what it is giving is in our own life.  How are you driving down your highway?  At what moment do you become the calculated risk taker versus the slow cautious driver?  At which point do you say I'm going too slow and need to pick it up?  At which point do you say, I'm going too fast and need to hit the brakes?  you see, when we are driving, I have heard that we may make up to 1000 decisions a minute- maybe more!  that's a ton.  If we do that while driving, then JUST IMAGINE how many decisions you are making in your daily life?

How are you choosing to drive on your highway???