This afternoon as I watched the Masters Golf Tournament, I wanted Tiger Woods to win. Although he didn't have a great tournament, he finished his round in second place. The leader, Trevor Immelman, had two more holes to go. The only way Tiger was going to win was if Trevor really messed up. As much as I wanted Tiger to win, I didn't want him to win just because another player messed up. I wanted Tiger to win because of his superior play. This week, Trevor had superior play, deserved to win, and did.
I think about this because I also have things I want to win. I would love to wake up skinny one day. But it wouldn't last long because all my bad eating habits would still be in play. I would be skinny, but I wouldn't have learned how to stay skinny.
In two weeks, I would like to magically run the Country Music Half Marathon in under two hours. But since I can't seem to break three hours right now, it's not going to happen.
I would like to go to a bookstore tomorrow and buy a book I wrote. But since I have yet to submit any pages to an editor or publisher, I'd better think of something else to do tomorrow.
All of these things are possible, but not in an instant and without time and hard work on my part. But that's part of what makes the victory so sweet - you earned it by working for it.
When I reach my goal weight, I will have celebrated every pound lost along the way and developed healthy eating habits. The closer I get to finishing a half marathon in two hours, I will rejoice in every minute I shave off my time and appreciate every sore muscle it took to get me there. When I see that book on the shelf with my name on it, I will remember the writes and rewrites and edits and cuts that were made along the way.
Trevor Immelman didn't wake up last Sunday and decide to start playing golf and win his first major tournament a week later. He started playing when he was five years old, and today won his first major championship.
I'll let you know when I win mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment