Have you every heard of a place called “Try?” While I have not been able to locate it with my GPS, “Try” seems to be located somewhere between “Goal” and “Excuse.” When you arrive at the Try airport, the pilot will receive credit for attempting to hit the runway. The taxi driver will give it his best shot at getting you to your hotel, and if you are lucky, your room will be almost ready. The people of Try don’t actually have to go to work as long as they get up and move in the direction of the workplace. Most people find Try an enjoyable place to live since they don’t have to deal with the frustration of failure and the stress of maintaining an accomplishment. They just have to Try.
Here at TOPS, we want to encourage people to give their best effort in attempting to achieve a goal. We need to be careful in the process of supporting our TOPS friends so that the effort doesn’t become the goal. When we set the destination for “Try,” we may not only quit making progress to “Goal” but may even, without meaning to do so, make it possible to take a detour to “Excuse.”
Acknowledging effort is important, but it is not the only requirement.
At a local gym where a new fitness class was starting, one of the ladies who obviously had been participating for quite some time was wiping the sweat off her forehead after a strenuous workout. She was definitely fit and toned! (Sometimes, being at the gym can be a bit intimidating.) On the other side of the room were a group of ladies who were newcomers to the process. They were not as fit and this workout thing was a bit new to them. They each had t-shirts they had made with a sort of mantra printed on the back. One read “Stronger than Before.” Another read “Stronger than Yesterday?” My favorite however, was worn by the lady who seemed the least in shape. It read “Stronger than Excuses!”
It doesn’t matter that I am unable to go as fast and as long as those who are in super shape. Nor does it matter that I am unable to run as fast as I once could. What does matter is, like the new gal at the gym, I am stronger than all the excuses I can come up with for why I shouldn’t be there.
It is interesting that I have never actually seen an excuse! You can’t buy one at the store. I even looked in the appliance section but was unable to find an excuse machine. No one is selling them on eBay or craigslist. So if we can’t actually find an excuse, how is it that excuses seem to keep so many people from achieving their potential?
So, as an exercise for this week, let’s record each time we create an excuse for why we are unable to do something. Join me either at the gym or at home, and let’s move forward together a bit at a time until we can lift the roadblock out of the way and keep moving forward. I’ll be the gal who doesn’t run as fast or kick as high as she once could, yet I am “Stronger than Excuses” and heading for “Goal“!!!!
Together, we make it happen!
I Care, Barb
