It's Not How You Start...It's How You Finish!

You've no doubt heard this saying...Well I am a BIG believer in "finishing strong."

A few months ago when I ran the Madison Half-Marathon (13.1 miles), I remember how my mind and body seemed to turn into pure steel in the very last leg of the race, the last mile or so. I basically "sprinted" to the finish line. My body, mind and soul were focused exclusively on crossing that line. It was like in that moment nothing else existed, nor anyone else--it was just me and that line.

Today I turned in my first completed draft of a book I've been writing on forgiveness since January of this year. I had wanted to publish it by the fall and so two weeks ago I set myself a personal deadline to have it done by now. Much like I did in the half marathon, I was steadily plugging away at it over the months, but in the last week, in the last few days, I found myself calling up all of the reserves within me and again "sprinting" to the finish line. And that is exactly how it felt--physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

There was that same sense of focus, determination, sheer power of will to finish it--and finish it strong. In that moment, there's not even a conscious feeling of "I can do it, I can do it." Rather, no words exist at this time--there is just pure feeling, pure being, and the totality of your being at that, for it takes all of you to make it happen. But you don't think about it, you just get "in the zone" and get it done. When you're in that "zone," the "work" almost seems to get done by itself.

I love how that experience of "crossing the finish line" can be a metaphor for other areas of life, like finishing my book. I once heard in a personal growth seminar, "how you do anything is how you do everything." And I am definitely one who likes to finish strong, in as many areas as I can. It's one thing to have ideas--I've definitely had my share of those--but quite another to actually PUT those ideas into ACTION, so that the seeds you planted and nurtured blossom into beautifully full ripe flowers for all to enjoy....Remember: it's not what happens to you in life that matters; it's what you do with what happens to you.

Play Time:
1) Can you think of an example of how the feeling or experience of a pivotal moment in your life (i.e. finishing a race, the birth of a child, a graduation, a wedding, travel to an exotic place, etc.) carries over into other areas of your life? What was the lesson you learned or the quality or trait you exhibited?

2) Do you have some dreams that would still like to see the light of day? (come on, we all do...) Pick one and see if there is one small action you can take today to move in the direction of that dream or goal.

And please leave a comment! I'd love to hear about what dreams you're working on bringing to your own personal finish line!

Remember: Finish Strong!