Persistence

Okay, okay I missed last night and now I’m knocking out another one in the same day. Sunday is a perfect day to clear your head and start the week on the right foot. I always thought that was a weird phrase. What happens if you are left footed like me? Oh well, another thought for another time. Actually, I was going to talk about persistence. Not persistence in a losing battle sense but using persistence with what you know is right or just accomplishing a goal. Michelle, Brianna, and I are currently working on a jig-saw puzzle. To us it is tough. We have made it over half way and should have it completed before the end of next week. We are being persistent and even a little patient with our endeavor. The puzzle is only 500 pieces but if you are not accustomed to doing these things they can become a little tedious. We have been so proud at our accomplishment as we see the picture taking shape. I do not share the same love of jig-saw puzzles as my 80+ year old grandmother who does 500 piece puzzles in her sleep. Today she had some of the family over to see her latest masterpiece. She had persisted and completed a 2,000 piece puzzle. It is 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall. This puzzle has taken her four weeks to accomplish. This is something that must take an amazing amount of persistence. The pieces look the same, the dexterity of the elderly isn’t always the smoothest, and as humans our minds tend to wander away from our goals. Being a society that enjoys instant gratification and everything else for that matter getting through a tough puzzle or task really is a good showing of what persistence has to offer us. My only level of persistence today has to do with pulling weeds. I don’t have a Homes and Garden type of yard and really don’t care. My weeds have taken over but I am determined to win the battle. I was out pulling and received a phone call that someone had hacked my twitter account. To remedy the issue I came inside and changed some passwords and to my surprise the prodigal son of the golf world was making an amazing run. Talk about persistence. This dude has been to the top and at one point worked harder than anyone to beat the absolute crap out of his competition. After some stupid mistakes his passion for golf disappeared. He has been making strides to right his ship and his persistence to get back on top are being shown with the fact that he has two wins and is now tied with the Golden Bear with 73 victories. Tiger and his persistence will be tested daily as he is expected to fail by some and succeed every time by others. Oh yeah, I went back out to my jungle and began pulling weeds again. Persistence pays off and I will win the battle. I surround myself with people who show high levels of persistence on a daily basis. This will from people shows me that struggle is good for us and that when we achieve the goal or finish the task there is a nice feeling of accomplishment since there was no give up. Over the next year my persistence is going to be tested. I refuse to hang up my competitive spirit so I have begun to set up my athletic schedule for the next year. Next Saturday Michelle and I will be competing in an obstacle course run. It will be at Dirty Foot which is near Ft. Meade. We will be in the 10:30 wave. The course is 5 miles with 30 obstacles. July 29th Michelle and I will be competing in the Scenic 17 sprint triathlon. It will be a ½ mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 5k run. In August I will begin competing again in the FTR harescramble series. I will be racing in the Senior B class with other guys who are 40+. This is a 14 race series that will run through April. I will be pushing my tennis team at FSC to levels they have never achieved. We will persist through the pain but the goal will be attainable. The process will begin in early September and be complete sometime in May. Some of the team along with Michelle and I will be competing in the Tough Mudder. This is a 10-12 mile obstacle course run that will be on Saturday, December 1. During the Fall tennis season one of my player’s has offered to be my new tennis coach. The team feels that I should start training and get back into the over 40 nationals. I haven’t trained for tennis in too many years to count. This is going to take a lot of persistence because my mind wants to play like I used to even though the body isn’t what it used to be. Lastly, in early June of 2013 I have been invited to participate in an amazingly tough event. I cannot speak of the details yet but when I do announce it I will be looking for support of all types. This will be an unbelievable accomplishment and I look forward to the training and completion of this. As you can see over the next year I am going to push myself beyond my comfort zone multiple times. The cool thing is that since I have put it out here I cannot back away. When I want to quit I have all of you to hold me accountable. Please hold me accountable and I promise you I will persist and accomplish all tasks listed above. Persistence is a pain in the ass but so is living with the regret of not doing what you set out to do.