Will it be worth it?
Before we talk about what it’s like to actually be in the winner’s circle, it’s necessary to talk about the journey.
Right now, at this very moment, we are all in a position that feels very familiar to us. It’s comfortable. We are used to being here. Our lives are full with all the things we do. We use all of our time doing and being and living. There is no room for anything else.
To begin the winner’s circle journey, we have to do something we aren’t doing now. If we add something, then we have to subtract something.
Human beings are programed to resist removing anything. We are afraid to lose anything. For some reason, losing is akin to a death of some part of us. Is it any wonder, we find all kinds of reasons, to stay where we are right now? And most of us decide to stay here.
Why do we do that?
It’s because in our minds, we will become different by doing something different and those who knows us, accept us as we are and might not if we become different. Our need to be accepted wins out over being in the winner’s circle.
What if we decide we are going to go for it anyway? We tell our friends and family about our decision. They will tell us we can’t do that. We can’t succeed. Only a lucky few do and we aren’t one of those few. These are the people who care about us and only want to protect us from failing.
We decide against moving forward to doing what we need to do to be a winner. We let our dream die. After all, these people know us best and are probably right.
Maybe we are one of the lucky few, who decide to go ahead in spite of all the well-meaning advice. We take the first step. That first step is going to feel so uncomfortable at first. We hate being this uncomfortable. We say why did I decide to do this.
An example: Suppose we decide we want to be a great basketball player and make lots of money and live the grand lifestyle of one so rich. We decide this after watching the beauty and grace of watching a player perform at peak performance. Yet, we have not ever picked up a basketball. The first thing we do is begin to bounce the ball. We push the ball to the floor and it bounces back, but not to our hand, but away from our body and rolls down the floor.Becoming a great basketball player isn’t as easy as it looks. We realize we are going to have to practice for hours upon hours just to become a proficient dribbler. And then, there are all the other skills we need to learn and the hours and hours of practice it will take to learn each and every one. We realize why they are paid the big bucks.
And we begin to understand that what we want in life has a price and the only question we have to ask ourselves and answer is do we want it bad enough to pay it.
Are we willing to become uncomfortable and fight the urge to quit, to get the prize?
Our answer will determine if we indeed will one day be in the winner’s circle.
Ted Davis
