I was listening to a story on the radio and a lady told her friend that she was trying out online dating.  She found a guy of interest and they agreed to meet until he asked her where she lived. She told him and he said, “That’s too far for me to come see you.”  It was on the other side of town and would place an inconvenience on his part to meet.

In today’s world of convenience, I thought of how ridiculous that sounds if it could possibly be your future spouse or a great friend.  Unfortunately, many of us do this same thing with our goals and dreams.  If it’s too hard or too inconvenient, we don’t give it a chance. If it requires too much work or at first try it doesn’t work, we’re ready to throw in the towel.

Are you really committed to your dream? Are you willing to do whatever it takes even if it’s not easy or convenient?  Are you committed to go the distance and stay in the race?  Being able to keep going in the face of adversity is a skill you will need to achieve any dream or goal.  Being resilient will help you endure.

When I ran the marathon in 2011, I had to be resilient.  There were many mornings I did not want to run and train.  But I had to if I wanted to run the race.  I had to press through bad weather, sleepiness and laziness in order to discipline my body.  After several months of training, I was able to run the 26.2 miles and finish.  It’s important to follow through and finish.  Many people start something, only to abandon ship halfway through.  If you want to win, it will take major commitment.  Make up your mind today that you are in it to win it!

~Coletta Jones Patterson