You have more to give

This morning I decided to go for a run around the block. In Fulton county all the roads are square miles. The roads from East to West are numbered 1-27 and the roads that run from North to South are lettered A-K. It's a unique set up for sure. So a run for me around the block is 4 miles.

Back in middle school, we used to have to do the presidential fitness challenge. One of the activities that had to be completed was the mile run. I remember it being 7th grade and we got on the bus and drove out to Goll Woods to run the mile. When I was a 7th grader I started to become more and more competitive. So riding out to run, I wanted to run a fast time. I wanted to run the mile in under 6 minutes because all of my fast friends had done that. Plus, it was like bragging rights. Everybody loved to talk about each others times. I hated to see people running faster than me that I thought shouldn't. So when we began our mile I started to book it. I was flying past people and was in a solid rhythm. The fastest kids in the class were still kicking my butt because I am not that fast. But I was doing good and I was happy with how I was running. I remember being about 3/4 of the way finished and my legs were dead tired but I knew that I had more to give.

I was at a point where I knew there was more to give, but I could still be satisfied where I was at. I had to make a decision in my head if I wanted to really push myself and be great, or just be happy with being good.

I decided that I wanted to be great. So I sucked it up and ran my hardest the last quarter mile and finished under 6 minutes and that was my goal. That ins't an incredibly fast mile, but remember...7th grade me wasn't that much of an athlete.

I remember crossing the finish line and I was so dead tired, but there was a feeling in me that felt so accomplished. It was the type of feeling you get after any solid workout. Riding the bus back to school I remember thinking to myself that I figured out the secret to being great at something.

That secret was pushing myself harder than I thought my body could go.

Why did I bring up that story? On my run this morning, one of the roads that I ran on was where I ran that mile and remembered pushing myself harder than I thought I could ever go. It was a trip down memory lane and a perfect reminder to me that you can achieve success in all that you do.

Running that mile back in 7th grade taught me one of the greatest lessons I have ever learned about myself. In everything I do, I do just a little bit more than I have to because I know that I always have more in me. Whether it is going for a run and finishing the run at a full out sprint, lifting more weight than I thought I could, reading an extra chapter of a book that I love, or writing a blog post when I had already done one for the day, I know that there is always more to give.

Whatever you do in your life you have the chance to do more than you think. This also correlates to success.

To me, success isn't setting a goal and accomplishing it. Yeah, that is great and everything..but you'll never be satisfied if you just keep having to set more goals everyday for yourself to accomplish. Success to me is giving yourself the opportunity to grow everyday. Success is finding joy in the process. If you look at success that way, you have the amazing opportunity to be successful everyday. Why? If you are giving yourself the chance to grow, you are providing yourself with the chance to succeed.

I encourage you to dig deep down and realize that you have more to give. There is always more to give my friends. When you channel that in your mind, the sky is the limit. Think about the possibilities you will have when you are pushing yourself extra hard in all that you do and when you combine that with growing everyday the amount of success you'll experience is unprecedented.

You always have more to give...