Push Yourself Because No One Is Going to Do It for You
When I was thinking about what to share this week, I tussled with a few ideas that I wanted to use to encourage you knowing that there are a lot of things going on in your life right now. So, understanding that you are busy, let me be your personal motivator to remind you to continue to push yourself because no one is going to do it for you.
Whether it is getting the family ready for school, or re-organizing your life for the new year or simply re-engaging at work after the summer season, now is not the time to sit back but to re-engage and to push yourself to participate in whatever you’re giving your time to fully.
I wish it were easier, but alas it is not, so you have to get up and get going if you plan to lead the life you’ve dreamed of.
Recently, for the first time in a long while, I took an eleven-day vacation. Where we were staying had limited internet service, so I put away my computer and became a beach bum during the day and cooking show spectator at night. Life was glorious for eleven days, and then life kicked back in and I returned to the office to dig out my desk from under a pile of mail and work needing to be done. It has taken me about eleven more days to get back into the swing of things and keep going. And guess what, no matter how many times I daydream about being on the beach and resting in the water, the truth is I have to push myself back into the game because no one is going to do it for me.
Now, the good news for me is, I love what I do, so a few days off and a few days back and all is well in my world.
I am sure you have “friends” who will try to needle you to get you motivated because they want you to do what they want done for them. Setting aside others’ desires for your time and talent, let’s consider why you need to give yourself an energetic push in the right direction.
The truth is no one is going to do it for you, so you might as well get organized, get going and do it yourself.
And while that is not always fun, it is not necessarily a bad thing when you push yourself to participate, in fact, if you work it right, it can be the difference between amazing success and catastrophic failure.
Let me give you a few reasons why you should consider pushing yourself all the way to the top.
The most important thing to remember is this: You are stronger than you think. We all have inner strength. You were born with some, and you’ve developed some more. The difference is that not all of us use the strength we have to move in the directions of our dreams.
As unconscionable as it is, you and I know that most people never tap into the stream of strength they have built up in their lifetime. After a fall or two or three, many once-promising leaders choose to lie on the couch of life instead of sweating through the daily grind of building their core competencies and strengths to win in the world that knocked them down.
It seems to me that in a world where everyone wants to be an immediate internet star or an “overnight sensation,” so many people are conditioned to not exert themselves beyond a few selfies or a week or two of hard work. They choose, instead, to live meekly, modestly and mildly instead of living boldly, brashly or bravely because no one is pushing them to develop the serious mental muscle it takes to be a winner.
Let me remind you again, that you must push yourself because no one is going to do it for you.
Another reason you need to push yourself is that it encourages personal growth. You will never know what you can do until you put your shoulder to the plow and start walking.
I have always loved the Dwight Eisenhower quote, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” The truth is, from where most people sit in their prepared jobs and pre-packaged lives, it is easy to get bogged down in the minutia of rote work. Only when the job goes away do they realize that it is not easy to keep going, but it is doable if they’re willing to go to work and get in the game.
No doubt, we all hope for the easier path, but if it is not to be, then your only choice is to start plowing and do what it takes to create the future of your dreams. In other words, you’re going to have to push yourself because no one is going to do it for you.
Finally, I believe that life is richer when you take some risks.
Dr. Alex Lickerman (in an article about pushing past the uncomfortable places) states that “we often fear stepping into the unfamiliar, and it rarely turns out to be as bad as we expect. In fact, we often don’t anticipate the good things we gain by stepping away from our routine. One of the benefits is courage. Trying something new often requires courage. And needing to summon courage is itself a benefit.”
Most of us understand that those in life who have achieved any degree of fame and fortune on their own have had to have the courage to step into the light of the ring and fight to the finish. Life is richer when you know you have done that on your own–your own heart and soul, your sweat and tears–and still, against all odds, you won.
The good news is that most of us will never have to step into the unfamiliar so much so that we’re overwhelmed with the weight of needed knowledge; what most of us need is to be ready to do the work and to believe that the risk is worth the reward.
I have come to believe that risk is the key that in many cases turns the lock of courage, and once opened, then on to freedom. But the fact is still the same. To achieve this type of success, you will need to push yourself because no one is going to do it for you.
