I’ve had a history of ambitious ideas and plans that I never really made a reality, but recently that has all began to change. I decided I was not going to let past mistakes and failures hinder me from the possibilities in front of me. No matter the size of the task, it is always doable.
As began the third switchback I felt my legs giving out and all energy fading. The third switchback is the worst; it is steep at first then turns to a gradual ascent that scales the mountain towards the top. In an effort to pace myself I stopped for a break about how half way up the steepest part of the third switchback. Bent over my bike I looked at where I had been and dizzily eyed the path in front of me. I then felt my body sway as my legs began losing and I was forced to slowly kneel to the ground.
As my vision blurred and soon went black it was as if I was looking at myself from above. At that moment my entire body lost strength and I fell to the dirt on the side of the path. As I regained my vision I looked again at the steep path to my left and the descent to my right. Unable to move I wondered how long it might take for the next outdoor enthusiast to come along and find me lying on the side of the trail. It was at that instant that I remembered a favorite speech given by Vince Lombardi titled What it Takes to be Number One. His speech starts with the sentence “You’ve got to pay the price.”
Life is like that. Any worthwhile experience has a price to pay. And how much that experience is worth to us is the value of the price we must pay. Although physically I couldn’t move, I pondered the steep hills I have encountered in my life, where I had met adversity and fought it with all my heart. I then thought of those times I had chosen to turn around and ignorantly choose to take the easy way out. I thought of how my family has always been there for me to help lighten the load. I thought of the handful of real friends I have, the ones that have sacrificed so much to see me get through the difficult climbs.
I then remembered Vince’s next words, “ You don’t win once in awhile, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
I looked at the path to the left, stood up, took a gulp of water and forced my body to continue upward.
The next hour and a half was a mental fight to continue upward despite constant cries from my body for relief, to turn around, to lose. I refused. I was determined to make a habit of winning, a habit of facing each task with my whole heart and relentlessly chasing each goal.
After reaching the top of the mountain looking back at the gruesome trail I had just ascended the end of Vince Lambardi’s speech came to mind.
…I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour-his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear- is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious.
I sat looking at the landscape in front of me with complete joy in where I was. Where I am. Life is full of opportunities to learn, experiences to live, and places to see. That is what makes life so exciting, the constant change. Although the change is hardly ever what we want to happen, it makes growth a never-ending process.
Sometimes life seems like it only goes uphill, but when we push forward through the misery and darkness we slowly begin to see a new light. A light that brightens our hope for the next mountain we will scale. The next chapter of our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment