Going The Distance Does Not Mean That You Will Reach Your Destination.

Going the distance does not mean that you will reach your destination.

Some time ago I listened to a very interesting interview about a guy who swam the English channel. What really struck me as a valuable life lesson was when he described how he had to battle the currents caused by the tides and at one point in the swim actually swam for an hour without making progress.

He had to swim just to stay in the same place. If he had stopped swimming he would have been swept back by the current, but eventually the tide turned and then, in fact, swept him towards his destination.
Just to put this into perspective, and so that you will know what to expect if you ever want to swim the channel. It takes so long to get across that the tide changes 3 times during the swim and the tide change causes strong currents in the channel.

That made me think about how often in our lives we have to battle the currents caused by the tides of our lives, illnesses, relationships, finances, workload, getting a job, losing a job, you will know what the currents in your life are.

Sometimes it just seems to be so hard, we work and we work but we just don't seem to get anywhere. It feels as if all our efforts are wasted and all too often we give up trying and let the current sweep us back.

But that just washes us into the next current and we struggle for a while but then give up and then that current washes us back, and so we go bouncing between the currents but never getting through. We end up using our life’s energy without ever achieving our desires. Oh we “go the distance” alright but we don’t reach our destination.

The danger of bouncing between currents is that you lose your enthusiasm for life, it is just one battle after another, every day a struggle with no end in sight. Then you lose your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed and you risk giving up and drowning.

If you find yourself in this position you have got to be like that swimmer. He focussed on the destination. He reaffirmed the value of the reward in relation to the effort. He reaffirmed his faith in his ability to hold out. He knew that it could be done and was determined that he would do it. He also knew that the tide would turn, nothing lasts forever, all he had to do was to keep on keeping on and he would (and he did) succeed.

Set the direction for your life. Where are you going? What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to be? Accept that there will be challenges, we cannot always control what happens to us but we can always control our response to the event.

Direction is more important than distance. It doesn't matter how far you travel if you are going in the wrong direction. It doesn't matter how much you do if you are doing the wrong thing. Don't confuse effort with achievement.

Remember that small steps, taken consistently, in the right direction, lead to great things.

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Affirmation

Today I will be enthusiastic and courageous, confident and decisive in doing the things that are necessary for my success.

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