As I mentioned the other day, I'm kind of an Olympics junkie. And when I say "kind of" I really mean "majorly." You wouldn't peg me as a sports person, but as soon as the Olympics come around, that's pretty much all I talk about. I spout facts about scoring, the individual athletes, the records they've set or broken, and anything else Olympic related. I'm pretty positive my family, friends, and Office Boy won't be able to stand me before the Olympics are over because it's basically all I talk about.I've been watching these athletes, and I'm amazed. In some of the sports, they're older, so they've had time to work and get to where they are. The athletes have been around for years. But in some of the others (gymnastics, in particular) these athletes aren't even legal adults yet. Gabby Douglas, who won the individual all-around gold, likely the most coveted title in gymnastics, is only 16. That means she's younger than my little sister. Whatt??? Not okay.
I sit here and look at myself, at age 23, and think, "What have I done with my life?"
And that's when I started thinking about intentionality, discipline, and success.
If you haven't been watching the Olympics online, like I have, you probably haven't seen this one particular ad. It features swimmer, 11x medalist, and birthday boy Ryan Lochte. Essentially, the point of the ad is that luck didn't have anything to do with Lochte -- or any of the other athletes -- getting to the Olympic games. They got there because they were intentional about getting there.
They trained. They were strict about their diet and sleep schedule. They worked as hard as they possibly could to become the best. And it payed off, because now they're at the Olympics.
I've thought a lot in recent years and months about what I want to do, and I've said it on here before: I want to be a writer. I want to write books, blogs, and articles that share the voice I've been given by my Savior to show Him to the world better.
And as I've sat watching the Olympics over the last few days and seen that Ryan Lochte ad I don't even know how many times, I've been frustrated with myself. I say I want to do these things. I say I don't want to work a desk job. I say I want to write a book. I say I want to one day make it onto the NY Times Best Seller list. But what am I doing to make that happen?
Sure. Some people get lucky. They meet the write person at the right time. They already know the right person. They have all the connections that are needed. Or they just happen to write a really crappy piece of fan fiction that becomes an best selling phenomenon when it's actually complete crap. But fortunately that last one doesn't happen too often.
But chances are, I'm not going to be one of the lucky ones. I'm not going to be one of those people who has a big break and goes from unknown to world famous overnight. It's going to take work. Intentional work. Disciplined work. A lot it. And it's going to take time. Also a lot of it. And I probably won't see results right away.
My fitness has been a lot like this. As I mentioned in a previous post, I started P90X a while back. 7 weeks and 5 days back, to be exact. It's been going well. I've had a few days where I haven't been able to do the workout here and there, but overall, I've worked out a minimum of 5 times a week for nearly the last 8 weeks. And I'd say that's pretty good.
But recently, I've found myself getting discouraged. You see, I don't feel like I've made much progress. I can see that my arms are a bit more toned, but I've seen little to no change in my waist, hips, butt, and thighs, and I've lost less than 5 pounds overall. I wasn't eating super duper healthy at the beginning, but for the last four weeks I've completely given up soda, been seriously counting calories, and trying my best to eat healthy. And still...less than 5 pounds.
Meanwhile, Office Boy started working out again about three weeks ago. He's gone to the gym 3-5 times a week, but, by his own admission, hasn't even been trying that hard. And you can already see the results. You can already see the change. That's hard for me sometimes. And I have to remind myself that it takes time, intentionality, and discipline, and that eventually I will see success.
For a while, I thought about starting some other ventures. I had previously mentioned that I was considering getting into web and graphic design. then I was going to be a preschool teacher. Then I was going to start my own print/graphic design business. I got a bit farther with that last one. I had a name. I had even created a website and a logo and announced to the population of my facebook friends that I was going to and was looking for people who needed custom graphic/print design done so I could expand my portfolio.
And a couple of days ago, as I sat watching the Olympics, I thought, Sarah, what were you thinking?
I want to write. I've only ever wanted to write. Yes, I enjoy playing piano and singing and dancing and acting and doing graphic design and web design and video editing and social media and a hundred other things that are enjoyable and I am somewhat naturally gifted at.
But none of them compare to writing. Aside from Jesus, writing has been the one constant in my life. The one thing I've always done. The one thing I've always loved. The one thing I've always wanted to do. So why on earth would I think it's a good idea to put my time, energy, intention, and discipline into something else that I enjoy but don't love? That's just idiotic.
And so I'm going to start being intentional about this. Because I will write a book one day, it will get published, and, Lord willing, it will one day be on the NY Times Best Seller list.
Check back Monday for more about intentionality, discipline, and success.
