If you don't know what that feels like, it's almost like saying, "I'd give my _____ (insert body part here)..."
In life we hit roadblocks. Obstacles show up. Detours seem to become a part of our "daily commute"; all in the name of wanting to do better...be better.
Countless late nights. Practice after practice. Test after test....only to come up short.
Is it really over when the "fat lady sings"...what happens when you don't reach the finish line in a timely manner, or worse...you get there only to be told, "Better luck next year."
8 Endings are better than beginnings.
Sticking to it is better than standing out.
Amen.
It was Monday May 7, 2012 11:59pm. Not too dark or scary on this night. I had been at school all day slowly continuing the push towards graduation. One final down, one more to go. Ever so tired...drained...weary. If I needed to be emotional at any point of a phone conversation, I wouldn't be able to because I had given everything I had to this last semester in graduate school. The end of the beginning; "No more teachers, no more books..."
Not too long after 12:30am I drifted off to sleep, praying that my slumber might be sweet, and my dreams mellow enough to let my brain recharge for what the next day might bring. Having felt a semi-sense of accomplishment in the day's feats I begin to pull the "Zs" in quickly.
Before I knew it the alarm clock was ringing and I was up; a new day had begun. The rest of the week went by quickly. On that Friday, I had my last test. Studied...I was ready.
Entering the examination room there was a flutter of pages turning constantly. My heart begin to beat faster, anxiety started to slowly come upon and I questioned: "Why can't I remember this stuff?!", as I perused the questions. Even though most finals would be approximately 3 hours, this professor who constantly quipped, "The grades don't matter", time and time again decided in their dastardly way to give us only 2 hours. I began to freak out.
Not one person stepped from that room with confidence. I suppose the only good thing was that this had been a Friday, and I at least had the weekend to ponder what might come of what was evidently a failure. I reasoned to be silent all weekend to try to have some sense of peace, because this could be my undoing...the last stand was to be made and I all did was fall forward, on my face.
...
Goals. Ambitions. Timelines.
Aspirations. Failures. Opportunity.
Do these words sound familiar???
It's been over the experience of my lifetime that often we might consider ourselves to have "lost it all" when things don't pan out the way we expect. We study for a test only to miss the mark by a few points. Train for a race, only to be disqualified or even worse not allowed to even try for a spot even though there are plenty of open lanes. Time and time again, we try...for some reason it seems like we get enough of trying but the world doesn't get enough of denying our progress.
Think about a time when you worked on something. I mean you really worked on it...so much that you began to almost identify with it...it may have even "become you". You're more than ready when your time comes to present this new idea, pass this test, or run this race....
And then it happens #theUnexpected
You don't know what to think because there's no contingency plan for this. All we had worked on was "Plan A" #getErDone.
No backups exist. No second chances. It's all downhill from here. Everything gone.
You gave your all..."left it [all] on the floor". What do you have to show for it?! ...nothing.
...
#itWasAllADream
If there's anything I can teach you on today, it's this: Delay is not denial. Sometimes things don't work out the way we plan. Many times we lose the strength to give that last push or come up short because of something that was completely out of our control.
What do you do when you're thrown off a horse? You get up, get back on...and ride again. There is strength in weakness as well as a lot of truth.
Just because you've "failed" doesn't mean you won't finish. Keep fighting until your victory is won. The end of a thing is ALWAYS better than the beginning; hold on, have faith, and live to fight another day.
God Bless,
liMitz
P.S. Do me a favor. If you know anyone who's in need of some encouragement, an extra push perhaps, or maybe even just a "you can do it"...let them know I said that they can do it AND send them to this blog entry.
