Victory, Defeat and the Power to Choose

Several Sundays ago, I was the image of victory. As I sprinted toward home (wrapping up my three-mile run) I longed for someone to capture the feelings and emotions bursting inside: gratitude, pride, motivation. I hadn’t run three miles in almost 10 years. I wasn’t sure I could do it. But, I knew I wanted to. I really, really didn’t want this run to be like so many before (only a block from my house, already walking, deciding this wasn’t all that necessary anyway.)

In the middle of my run, I flashed back to an image that sits prominently in one of my past offices. It’s the image of victory and defeat. I’ve felt both. But, in retrospect, most of the feelings of defeat come from a lack of intention, the absence of action and most importantly the lack of a deeply rooted “why” for doing anything at all. Our decision to take action is what delivers our results. But, WHY make decisions in the first place? 

Throughout my run, these thoughts kept racing through my mind:

• I’m thankful for my health and for my freedom to author my own life story. 
• I’m proud of my determination to do what matters to me, proud of the physical strength I have developed, and the mental strength I exercise.
• I’m motivated by the people I’ve chosen to surround myself with and by the results I’m seeing and feeling.

What does your personal victory look like? What are your small wins? What’s stopping you from achieving your own personal victory? Has it occurred to you that you are more powerful than you imagine? 

Whatever season of life you are in, I hope you are able to keep sight of what matters most to you. I hope you see that you are writing your life story now, in everything you do. I hope you are exercising your power to moving past the defeat and toward your victory.