I came across an Inky Johnson quote this week that made me evaluate my effort:
“The question isn’t ‘What do you want in life?’ It is ‘What are you willing to go through to get it?’”
I think we spend a lot of time thinking about what we want our life look like. We dream about our jobs, the size of our house, the car we drive, or city we live in. Wanting isn’t a problem. Achieving those wants is. Suffering is the wall that separates dreams from reality. Our wants have no boundaries, but our wills are limited. It easy to want, it’s much harder to work.
This past weekend, I watched a few Football Hall of Fame speeches. A repeating theme was the struggle they endured to become legends. Many of them weren’t supposed to be in the NFL. Some grew up in poverty, without a parent, battled depression, or grades barely good enough to make it in school. They each had visions of being one of the best football players ever and were willing to go through anything to achieve it. That effort is what separates the best from the rest.
Have you mentally prepared for what you are willing to go through to reach your goals?
Are you willing to work the extra hours?
Are you willing to do the extra reps?
Are you willing to study hours for the big test?
Are you willing to follow God’s timeline instead of your own?
I’ll admit that I haven’t always been willing to put in the effort that it takes to be the best. Are you? Do you want to be the best? What are you willing to go through to get there?
I appreciate you.
-JP
I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this each week! I didn’t know what this would look like when I started, but I’m thankful for those of you who have been supporting Monday Motivation every week. In September, it will be 1 year since I started the weekly messages. To show my appreciation, I want to give you guys the opportunity to share the motivations on your heart. For the month of September, all the messages will be written by others. I know there are people who want to share, but don’t have the platform, so I want to offer an avenue for people to do that. If you are interested in writing a post or know someone who should write a post, reach out to me: 15petersj@gmail.com.