Keep up the Good Fight

As you can tell it is December 31. That day that we all look back on the previous year and examine where we have been, where we figure out that we should have zigged instead of zagged. Many of us, myself included, will make resolutions to change our behavior and make improvements for the upcoming year. I think a quote from Coach Bobby Knight is very appropriate here. "The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare."

We all want to succeed. We do not plan to fail. A lot of it is failing to make a plan to succeed. Someone might make a resolution that is life changing. Losing weight, quitting smoking, being a better parent, a more loving spouse. But fail to get there as they can't find the beginning or when results do not come as they had hoped or as fast as they desired, they opt to just stay as they were.

We need to slow down and realize that change takes time and perseverance. Break the challenges into smaller bites that one can realize small successes. As someone once told me, "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves." Take the resolutions and promises of a better tomorrow and break it down into little tasks and challenges one can handle. Take those small wins and build on it for the next challenge. Will you have a setback? Probably, but find your heart. If you have a setback, don't quit. The next knock on the door may open it. Keep your eye on the prize. You will not get there tomorrow, or next day or even next week, but the joy of the journey is not the destination, but the path we traveled to get there.

Look at the story of Abraham Lincoln and the number of failures and setbacks during his life. Numerous lost elections, failed business ventures. He continued to press on and became one of our most revered presidents. Find the heart, find the drive and desire deep inside you to succeed, and keep up the good fight.

I leave you with this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."