Happy Monday!
I was so happy that I took the whole day yesterday to rest and regroup. I needed it! Today I am back at it and I feel so much better.
I really WANTED to get a workout in. Wes and I headed to the gym around 10:30 to do some pool running and see how things went. We wanted to get in an hour. After 30 minutes we called it quits. We were both tired, couldn’t get into it, and just realized it wasn’t worth it. We could have pushed through but we decided to give it a rest yesterday.
We had our Valentine’s/Match Celebration last night. I have been looking forward to it all week!
My parents actually sent us a gift card last week for Valentine’s Day to Cheddars so we decided to use it tonight.
It was delicious and a wonderful meal to celebrate all the awesome things that have happened. It was also great to spend some quality time with my Valentine.
Since Monday has arrived again it is time for another round of motivation to get this week started off right. Today the word of the week is: perseverance.
The definition itself says it all. It is pushing through the hard times, the struggles, the discouragement and coming out on the top. It’s doing things you don’t want to do because you have to. It can apply to so many aspects of our life. We all learn how to persevere at some point in our lives.
Even though hard times in our lives can really hurt us and discourage us, sometimes that is exactly what we need to push us into that next step. To be honest with you, my previous job was just a job to me. I really didn’t like it at all, most days I was miserable, and I would talk myself into going every day just to bring home a paycheck. It isn’t easy to live like that after a while. Had I not lost my job I would have never been brave enough to quit (though it had been talked about). Is it easier now working 3 jobs instead of 1 to supplement that income? No. I know however that this is going to get me where I need to be, get us through the next 3 months, and then on to something much better!
This is another quote I love to reference when I am having a hard time. True strength is not giving up even when everyone expects you to. When others are waiting to see you fall apart and you don’t that is strength.
This can also apply to running in so many ways. I remember my very first marathon around my 15 I hit the wall. That was way too early to be hitting the wall in a marathon and I panicked. I had no idea how I was going to get through the next 11 miles without falling apart. I kept pushing, I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and I didn’t give up. Sure I didn’t get the time that I would have originally wanted, but that’s how we learn. I was so proud for just pushing myself to cross that finish line.
Even those days when running seems like a chore and even though we love it the thought of having to run the miles seems impossible. THOSE are the days that build strength and make you into the runner you want to be. I’ve always said that running can be compared to life in a lot of ways and I 100% agree with that. Just like when you think you can’t go another step and you DO, life works the same way. Just when you feel like you can’t get up and do what the day is bringing, you DO.
Running has taught me so much about perseverance and I have seen myself using it even more now. Even when that pesky doubt starts coming in the back of your mind telling you that it’s impossible, it’s not! It may not be solved right then or happen overnight but if you keep persevering and keep pushing forward you will make it!
I think braveness and perseverance comes from belief in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself then it is so easy to give it up. It is so easy to just throw in the towel and say “I can’t do it.” As my Dad always used to tell me when I was little, “can’t never could do anything.” I always got annoyed when he would say that because he would never allow me to use the phrase “i can’t” but now as I have gotten older I get it. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but rather that you should always try. If it doesn’t work out, you just get yourself right back up and keep on pushing forward!
Tell me about a situation where you have persevered?
What are some of your goals for the week?
I overcame a serious femur injury. Fourteen years ago doctors told me I would not be walking in 6 months much less running. I’m walking and running today. When I begin to doubt myself or want to give up during a run, I remind myself of how far I’ve come. It’s truly incredible what we can direct our bodies to do. It’s mental not physical.
Wow that is such an awesome story Megan! So so true – so much of it is mental and believing in yourself!
I would say my first marathon. I was inexperienced and probably went out too fast and I was pursuing a sub-4hr time. My right started tightening at the halfway mark, and it kept getting worse, eventually spreading to my left quad. It was a struggle to keep running, and I walk/ran the last six miles. I kept pushing though and I wanted to finish my first marathon so badly. I made it to the finish line shy of 8 minutes to my goal time.
Yes I think we all learn a lot during our first marathon! It will make you much stronger as you continue! I have learned so much and can’t wait for my next race!
I persevered during a particularly rough job search. I graduated directly into the recession and had to work in a bakery until my job came. It was heartbreaking sometimes, doing all the work for a job, and getting a phone call, or worse yet, an email that you’d been passed over. But I persevered and now I have a job and love this blog thing!
Great to hear! I know how that is. I am working 3 part time jobs just to get us through right now. The job market sure is not looking much better!
I am hoping that when we move I can find a much better full time job! I just keep persevering through it!
OK, so now I will be hearing that ‘Pooh voice’ all day long. We loved those videos when the kids were little … like when Christopher Robin went to ‘skull’ 🙂
Glad you guys got your celebration dinner together! Our Valentines plans more or less ‘smeared’ across the weekend, which was fine because we had fun.
And I think that sometimes ‘persevering’ requires a long term view – you guys stopped your workout early, but that is not a ‘lack of perseverence’ – it is recognizing when to stop and start again later!
Yep the shortened workout had nothing to do with perseverance. We knew we had enough and needed a rest!
Glad you all had a great valentine’s weekend!
I love these quotes. Running has taught me a lot about perseverance too!
It sounds like you did the right thing yesterday. I’ve found that sometimes when you push through and do a workout that you’re really, really not feeling, you can actually burn out pretty easily. Sometimes taking a day off really helps. The biggest situation I think I’ve really persevered in was getting my PhD. There were so many times I wanted to quit due to crummy situations, but I stuck it through and finished my degree.
Yes I knew after 30 minutes I just needed to take a break! 🙂 Good for you! Congrats on finishing your PhD that’s awesome!
Perfect time for me to read this post! this week is a crazy week: 3 exams and a project in 4 days. Yesterday was the first exam and even though i studied all weekend, it didn’t go very well. it’s my last semester of school and it’s so hard to still push when the results aren’t so good. but what i appreciated in that first icon is that perseverance is persistence in a steady adherence to a belief or a purpose. that means more than just working to reach a goal. it is actively sticking to a way of life, fighting to keep fighting. will keep this in mind for the rest of the week. 🙂
Good luck!! You can get through this last semester! It’s hard but it will be so worth it in the end 🙂