This morning I took time to watch the end of the Canadian Women’s Soccer teams’ bid for an Olympic Bronze medal. After a disappointing loss to the US team three days ago, and threats of sanctions against the team when the complained about the officiating, I was more than a proud Canadian when they scored the winning goal.
- Canada Ladies Soccer Team Wins Bronze Medal at the Olympics
This team of athletes set out for the Olympics with one goal in mind – to be on the podium. Following the loss to the US team and the extraordinary disappointment I am sure they felt, it would have been easy to lose sight of this goal and to simply give up. They did not. They rallied. What an example they have set for all of us.
As I reflect back on my own life and career, I wonder how many times I have given up when I was disappointed or when I felt I had lost the game.
Staying the course takes fortitude and, perhaps more importantly, courage. When you choose to stay with something you risk being disappointed again or losing again. It is so easy to justify giving up. I have watched myself do it and can remember the excuses: “This wasn’t the best course for me” or “It wasn’t perfect timing for me.” Sound familiar?
Let’s stop doing that and understand that each time you work at something, you learn regardless of the result. If you always do your best and pursue the goals that are important to you, it is the journey rather than the result that really matters. Of course there will be challenges and disappointments along the way. That’s what makes achieving your goal in the long run so sweet!
I have been running our business for fifteen years. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought about quitting. Those days when it just seemed too hard to continue, when there was little or no new business on the books, when the future was uncertain and when I had lost sight of what I am here to do and who I am here to be.
This morning’s triumph is a significant roadSIGN for me. This band of committed women encourages me to stay the course, to never give up. And so I take a deep breath and begin again. I reach for courage and remind myself of why I have made the decisions I have made and what it is I want to offer to the world. I step into my authenticity and remember what I consider to be my raison d’etre, to facilitate the journey of self-discovery for those whom I serve. I dive into love and remember that I began this journey because I love what I do, why I do it and who I do it with and for. And finally I re-visit grace, reminding myself to stop pushing my way forward and to allow today and the future to simply unfold, to be conscious and fully present.
I think at times we give up too easily and as I reflect back, the greater disappointments in life were those where I fell from the path. I am left wondering about the great ‘what if…’ What if I hadn’t given up, what if I had tried something different, what if it had worked.
Here’s the good news – you get to choose again. You can re-visit and remember all those things that are really important to you and you can put them back on your agenda.
Until next time…
Betty