“I’ve always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way, and you’ve got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles en route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.”
Chuck Norris
Is it worth achieving if you don’t have obstacles? If it is easy, anyone will do it. Anyone could do it. So perhaps the real question is this. Are you pushing hard enough to find the obstacles? If not, push harder…
“Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do.”
Phillips Brooks
What were you meant and made to do? Is it more than you are doing now? Where have you become contented in life and in your thoughts and actions?
This is heady stuff for early in the morning but it definitely stopped me in my tracks as I read this quote and reflected on the questions above. I believe there can be great danger in discontentment if it is all about yourself and what you want to do. But if you frame these questions from the perspective of what God meant and made you to do, perhaps it might change your answers.
What did God mean and make me to do? Is it more than I am doing now? Am I fulfilling all that He created me to be and accomplish?
“Greatness is more than potential. It is the execution of that potential. Beyond the raw talent. You need the appropriate training. You need the discipline. You need the inspiration. You need the drive.”
Eric A. Burns
All the raw talent in the world won’t create a champion. The champions are created in the training room practicing their skills and building on their God given gifts. This takes desire and motivation beyond simply “doing your best.”
What gets you to give the extra 10% that no one is asking for? What motivates you to push beyond what is expected? What drives you to excel?
If you can’t answer this in 10 words or less then keep working on it. It has to be on the tip of your tongue when you wake up, when you go to bed, when you hit hard times, when you lose, and when you win. That’s how you push yourself to get better.
“Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more.”
Tim S. Grover
I completely agree with the sentiment expressed in this quote. I have long believed that no one could push me harder than I could push myself. As I have gotten older, and perhaps wiser, I have learned that while no one can push me harder, perhaps others can push me in ways I didn’t even know that I needed to go.
Demanding more of yourself sometimes means getting perspective and help from outside so you know exactly where to push so hard… Who helps you see where you channel your relentless energy?
“Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear. Otherwise, the next day you’re going to have two things you don’t want to do, then three and four and five, and pretty soon, you can’t even get back to the first thing. And then all you can do is beat yourself up for the mess you’ve created, and now you’ve got a mental barrier to go along with the physical barriers.”
Tim S. Grover
This quote comes from a book titled From Good to Great to Unstoppable that is is a very worthwhile read. Tim is a trainer/performance coach for some of the world’s most elite athletes. The kind of people who win championships and are the top 1% of the top 1%. The type of folks that demonstrate the work ethic and drive written about above.
Do you know what is interesting about this? Every single one of us has this opportunity in our lives. We might not all be genetically gifted by God to play football or basketball but every single one of us has the ability to “Do. The. Work.” It is a choice. Being a champion at something take relentless effort and doesn’t come without a high personal cost.
You have to choose to do the work. You can either own the work, or the work will own you. It’s your choice, but make no mistake, it is a choice. Choose wisely.