"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"- Confucius
I started my post high school career a little on the naive side. My first semester started excitedly as a new student in 1998. I thought that if I took enough credits to become a "full-time" student, then 4 years later I would be a college graduate. I learned very quickly, that was not the case. Since that first semester of classes started, I started working, I changed my degree, and I started dating a wonderful girl. Before I finished my final semester, I started and stopped school more than once because of little things that came along such as, getting married, starting my own restaurant, and having 2 kids. By the time I finished, I was just happy I wasn't 30 yet.
When I started my journey of what I thought would be a few miles, I had no idea what life had in store for me. I have realized a lot of firsts, I have realized my share of great excitement, and I have realized more than a few disappointments. What I ultimately have realized though, was that when I started my journey of a thousand miles, I would be tested to make a different decision after I took that first single step... I would have to take the second step also.
Each day, we have a great opportunity to look at our lives and make a decision. The decision to take another step on our journey of a thousand miles. At the beginning, it is easy to start our journey, full of enthusiasm and excitement, but what do we do when we come face to face with unexpected disappointments that can turn the expectations in our minds into little more than a fleeting thought to continue on. What makes the destination worth reaching? It is keeping our minds, and feet moving in a direction with forward momentum. Each day we have to make that choice again. As we gain experiences that weave our decisions into wisdom, that choice becomes easier to make and it is nearly an after thought only.
Continue to make great choices and share with us, some of the great choices you have made even though it was difficult. We can all be motivated by how others overcome the draw to give in, give up, or just slow down, but we can learn more from how we overcome that desire and continue on, better and stronger than when we started.
well said Bill. Thanks for the inspiring thoughts
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great quotes, but the real test is how they change what youre doing and make you better. Thanks for sharing both.
ReplyDelete"Don't look back because you're not going that way" (:
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of life as a journey and am often reminded of one of my favorite quotes from President Hinckley who said he enjoyed the words of Jenkins Lloyd Jones written in a June 12, 1973, Deseret News column: "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed.
ReplyDelete"Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.
"Life is like an old-time rail journey — delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."