Continued from: The Traveler’s Gift- Decision Six

The Persistent Decision

I Will Persist Without Exception.

Knowing that I have already made changes in my life that will last forever,today I insert the final piece of the puzzle. I possess the greatest power ever bestowed upon mankind, the power of choice.

Today, I choose to persist without exception. No longer will I live in a dimension of distraction, my focus blown hither and yon like a leaf on a blustery day. I know the outcome I desire. I hold fast to my dreams. I stay the course. I do not quit. Decision Seven

[The most powerful words in the last decision are ‘without exception’. We are too apt to manufacture alibis for ourselves and to concoct innumerable ‘exceptions’. A long time back a friend wrote one sentence on a piece of paper and stuck it just above my desk drawer so I would see it many times in a day. The sentence was simple. He wrote:

You are not allowed to lose your focus.

For three years I had that sentence running in my mind like the subtitles of a movie… superimposed on every thought.. dominating every action. It was the ticker tape of my personal growth stock exchange. For three years I forgot I was a human being- a woman or a mother. In those three years, this sentence caught me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me out of the abyss I had got mired into.

Now, this sentence is an ingrained part of me. I have learned to focus and to be consistently persistent.

**YOU… are not allowed to lose your focus. You will do what needs to be done… and feel tired later. Right now, you have no time for a personal weaknesses. You have work to do- and you will be persistent… consistently…! :|**]

I will persist without exception. I will continue despite exhaustion. I acknowledge the fact that most people quit when exhaustion sets in. I am not “most people.” I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare them- selves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.

[There are many words I would not think of applying to myself… or to those whom I respect. One of the words I am at war with is ‘AVERAGE’. I detest the word and all it stands for. I hate the inherent ‘giving up’ and built-in alibi it throws insolently in my face. “Oh I couldn’t do this job because I am ‘just’ an average guy…!” Right…!!!

What’s the normal… or the average where human beings are concerned…? To one, bungee jumping is an average sport- to another it is extreme. To one writing four novels a year is average- and to someone else four novels would take an entire lifetime..! There is nothing ‘average’ about people… there is no ‘normal’… there is no common denominator. I am not talking of mundane things… things like eating and sleeping. History is not made by people who did nothing but eat and drink and sleep. I am talking about things which make human beings rise above animals. In those things, there is no average… no normal.

They say when you are building a muscle, you work the muscle beyond the point of exhaustion and well into the point where the muscle begins to tear. The rush of blood to heal that injury actually builds up the muscle to more than its former power and size. Exhaustion is an indication that NOW is the time when one more push will open the road for growth and achievement. Exhaustion is not the time to stop.

**The purpose of the whole struggle for upward movement was to reach the point of exhaustion because breakthroughs lie just beyond that point. Its like getting a university degree…. you get one only after you go through the study you need to do (which is exhausting). Exhaustion is good, it shows the breakthrough is coming up. 😀 **]

How long must a child try to walk before he actually does so? Do I not have more strength than a child? More understanding? More desire? How long must I work to succeed before I actually do so? A child would never ask the question, for the answer does not matter. By persisting without exception, my outcome—my success—is assured. I will persist without exception. I focus on results.

To achieve the results I desire, it is not even necessary that I enjoy the process. It is only important that I continue the process with my eyes on the outcome. An athlete does not enjoy the pain of training; an athlete enjoys the results of having trained. A young falcon is pushed from the nest, afraid and tumbling from the cliff. The pain of learning to fly cannot be an enjoyable experience, but the anguish of learning to fly is quickly forgotten as the falcon soars to the heavens.

[I disagree slightly with what ANDY has said here about it not being necessary to enjoy the process. . When the road is long and arduous, it helps if you enjoy the process. The enjoyment must neither distract you from you purpose nor make you lazy. Within that constraint, what is harm if you can do something to ease the strain of the burden…? Truly, no one likes the effort that goes into winning a victory. I asked a senior colleague once how the door-to-door sales people manage to maintain their pep and verve when the constant rejections must be so tough to handle. He said, “They don’t like the rejections- just the commission cheques at the end of the month. Specifically, they like the figure written on that cheque… the more zeros there are the better.”

**You want to get DONE with the anguish to learn how to fly…? Then soar… and your first flight will transform the pain into the joy you will feel on achieving victory. The more pain… the more joy. :)**]

A sailor who fearfully watches stormy seas lash his vessel will always steer an unproductive course. But a wise and experienced captain keeps his eye firmly fixed upon the lighthouse. He knows that by guiding his ship directly to a specific point, the time spent in discomfort is lessened. And by keeping his eye on the light, there never exists one second of discouragement. My light, my harbor, my future is within sight!

[Persistence is also a choice: to look at the shape of the final victory than to study the wrinkled and ugly face of defeat. NLP practitioners believe that if you are looking at a hole while you are walking, you increase your chances of falling into it. Tight rope walkers never look down either… they look ahead where they want to reach- and they reach there.

**This is why they say, keep pictures of what your accomplished goals will look like. There are so many instances when people have actually bought the VERY same car or house whose picture they collected for their goals scrap book. It has happened too many times to be disbelieved now. Don’t just collect pictures… look at them frequently… after all… what are you going to use. Oh one more thing…!

All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don’t sit looking at it – walk. Ayn Rand

😀 **]

I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith. In Jeremiah, my Creator declares, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” From this day forward, I will claim a faith in the certainty of my future. Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist.

For me, faith will always be a sounder guide than reason because reason can only go so far—faith has no limits. I will expect miracles in my life because faith produces them every day. I will believe in the future that I do not see. That is faith. And the reward of this faith is to see the future that I believed.

[I believe in God’s plans… I believe in the free will God has equipped me with. I believe in the choices my soul makes in the journey it wants to take. All these beliefs add up to a certainly that IN THE LONG RUN… my future will be the best future for me. I do have to remind myself of the words in capitals… but with practice I am able to do it. Setbacks, adversities, disappointment- they come because I need to learn how to overcome them. I need to learn because that is the skill I need to help me overcome the NEXT challenge. It is just God’s way of giving me advance practice. Why wouldn’t He give me advance practice..? He loves me and wants me to win doesn’t He?

**Do you have faith that your life will be a statement of the person you were…?

Will today be the day when the quality of your life will reflect the quality of your spirit..? Anthony Robbins

😀 **]

I will continue despite exhaustion. I focus on results. I am a person of great faith.

I will persist without exception.

The Traveler’s Gift- Decision Seven