Blog #602: The Pilot Who Pushed Me

How do I succeed?

It’s not in having small goals.
It’s not in having big ability.
It’s not in having unrelenting willpower.

It’s because of reliable Helpers.

______

Ten days ago…

I succeeded in walking with tired feet…

135 miles across windy, rainy Scotland.

Of course…

It took a reasonable amount of physical ability and willpower…

But most of all, I succeeded because of my Helpers.

Without them?

If I had to rely purely on physical ability and gutting it out alone…

I’d NEVER have had enough power in my spirit to finish.

______

Helpers.

On this adventure…

I had THREE.

#1. Routines.

#2. Roads.

#3. Rocks.

Let me walk you through each…hoping that perhaps one sparks an idea for YOU as you continue forward with a pressing goal in your life.

______

#1. Routines.

I walked a lot of miles on 10 straight days. On every one of those mornings, I really didn’t want to start walking…but the routines I had in place helped me from wavering.

Every night, I was sleeping before 8:00 p.m.

Every morning, I was walking by 6:30 a.m.

My break times were the same each day.

My eating times were the same each day.

My routines kept me mentally, emotionally and physically consistent. When going through a tough challenge, THAT matters.

#2. Roads.

I knew the roads I’d be walking before I was walking them.

I knew the terrain.

I knew when the ups would start.

I knew the miles between markers.

I had an idea of what time the worst weather would come.

Surprises derail goals…so I kept mine to a minimum.

#3. Rocks.

Three days of the walk were extra hard… and having Routines and knowing Roads were not enough to get me to my night’s bed. This next Helper is the most unusual of my three, so I’ll take an extra minute explaining it.

When I found myself slipping, I’d pick up a small/medium-sized rock.

And carry it.

With the rock, I made an association between it…

and an inspiring person whose life had touched mine.

I focused on their story.

I focused on their struggle.

I focused on their success.

As an example…

I have a friend who flies a BIG commercial plane across the ocean for a major airline. HER story of how she became a pilot…and what she had to overcome to get to where she is…continually inspires me.

Her story…attached to my rock…gave me inspired focus to walk through MY current struggle.

I walked three tough miles carrying that rock. Then…when I was back to my stronger self…I walked off the trail and placed the rock near a plant overlooking the Scottish Bay. l sense it won’t be moved for years.

Feeding off the inspiration of others…

and finding a way to melt their inspiration into me was a GIANT Helper.

______

So that’s how I succeeded.

That’s what I did to successfully walk 135 miles across Scotland.

Helpers.

#1. Routines.

#2. Roads.

#3. Rocks.

Undoubtedly…

I will continue to rely on a version of the three with every big goal I create.

I’m hoping today’s blog will inspire YOU to consider something of the same.

It works.

S.