{a mini-series}
On Sunday, my son-in-law, Robert, crossed the finish line of the Hottest Half Marathon in Dallas.
It was horribly hot that morning, hence the name, "Hottest Half."
And yet, hundreds of runners braved the heat to run the race.
Young, old, thin, not-so-thin, every ethnicity, every background and lifestyle was represented.
Boy, it was hot, standing out there, watching them run, waiting for Robert to enter the homestretch. I wore the wrong shoes and my feet hurt. I was drenched in perspiration.
Wiping my brow, I watched a silver-haired lady, (she had to be in her seventies,) cross the finish line and make her way through the crowd to collect her medal. Tanned, fit and dripping with sweat, she was congratulated by her family with hugs and bottled water. She looked amazing.
And I admired her. I thought, "I want to be her."
I want to be that fit lady who runs half marathons.
The instant that thought entered my mind, another thought arrived right on its heels.
"Yeah, Rachel. But if you want to be that lady, you're going to have to BE that lady."
I suddenly realized that I wouldn't wake up one day and just run a half marathon. I wouldn't snap my fingers and be "that person" who collects a medal at the end of a run. I wouldn't wave a magic wand and find myself fit and accomplished.
To be her on race day, I'll have to be her on every other day,too.
That lady, just like Robert and all the other runners, gets up each day and decides to take steps toward her goals. She laces up tennis shoes and pull on shorts, applies sunscreen and grabs some water...and then she runs. Or walks. Or trains.
Oh.
Just like the writers, who get up and tap out 500 words every day.
And the artists, who create something - a sketch, a doodle, a painting, a collage - every day.
And the lifelong learners, who read non-fiction books and attend classes and seminars and meet at coffee shops with discussion groups.
And people who learn to fly airplanes by saving their money and going to flight school and learning about things like "lift" and "attitude indicators."
And mountain climbers, who start on little hills and put dates on their calendar to attempt bigger hills.
If you want to be that person on graduation day, or race day, or book release day, or solo flight day, or summit day - you've got to BE that person who did the work it took to get there.
But first, you need a goal.
And I'll talk about finding, and setting the right goal in my next post, on Thursday. Join me?
Love, Rachel
Today's Question: Have you ever admired someone and thought, "I want to be that person?" Or, "I want to be like her?" What is keeping you from taking the first step toward making significant changes in your life?
The next post in this series is this: How to Set Goals so You Can Become the Person You Want to Be
