She Believed She Could So She Did

She believed she could so she did and progress not perfection are two of my self chosen running mantras, but they are applicable to all facets of life. Some of the most valuable life lessons I have learned have come from my running.

I chose she believed she could so she did as one of my mantras because I’ve always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to. There will always be naysayers, people telling you all the things you can’t do, people telling you that things are impossible, and people telling you aren’t good enough. But if we listened to them, we would never reach the heights we are destined to reach. It doesn’t mean that our journey is smooth, that we don’t have setbacks, that our journey isn’t derailed at times, or even that we don’t have to restart our journeys sometimes. But I believe the heart, the mind, and faith in God and his plan can do incredible things.

I’ve self identified as a runner for the last 14 years. Have I consistently and constantly ran for the last 14 years? Absolutely not. I’ve had stress fractures, I’ve torn the ligaments between my legs in a skiing accident, I’ve flat out just been burnt out, I’ve focused on other activities depending on the season of life, I’ve had other minor injuries, and now I’ve had COVID. Had I quit with each of those setbacks I wouldn’t be where I am now. Despite the setbacks, I’ve never counted myself out, I’ve never told myself it’s too late, I’ve never told myself I’m too far gone. You must never count yourself out! Back in July , I started at square zero or even square negative ten. Running was awful—it felt awful, I was beyond out of running shape, and my muscles screamed. It honestly took months before things felt good enough that I actually started enjoying running. Just about the time I was really starting to feel good and running seemed easier, COVID hit. But I didn’t quit, I didn’t let the setback ruin everything I had worked for, in fact it gave me the motivation to fight and to fight hard, and today, less than a week after returning to running following COVID I ran 5 miles. She believed she could, so she did. My running is just an example, you can apply this to anything in your life. Shoot for the stars, chase after your hearts desires and the plan God has for you, and never give up the fight or the things you believe in.

Progress not perfection is my other mantra. I don’t seek to be perfect and I know I’ll never be perfect. What I strive for is progress. The fact that I’ll never “arrive”, always gives me something to work for/on whether it is in a physical realm, a mental realm, or a spiritual realm or in all 3 of those. There are always ways we can improve ourselves and when we look back at our journeys, we can see all the progress we’ve made and all the milestones we hit. Never seek to be perfect, just strive to be better.

Hebrews 12:1-2 sums it up perfectly: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Love and peace to all of you my sweet friends.