Motivational Monday

You don't have to be great to start,

but you have to start to be great.

This may be hard to believe. I know it is hard for me to believe. I don't think anything I do will make me great per se, but I also know that I generally don't think I deserve to do things that may allow me to grow and improve. Heavens! It took me 10 years to get a Master's degree! I started, then stopped because I got engaged and knew I needed the money for that rather than the degree. When we moved, I tried again, but I couldn't get my initial credits to transfer and realized I would have to start all over. This frustrated me and I stopped. Fast forward to 2007 and I decided to try again at Penn State Harrisburg with the American Studies program. I was admitted and I finally earned my degree in 2009. I honestly never thought it would happen. LOL! I am not dumb, but a Master's seems so smart. After earning that degree, I honestly think if I could afford the Ph.D. program, I could complete it.

How does this relate to working out/healthy living? I've never felt I'm all that special of a runner. I run slow. I apparently can do something I set my mind to since I've run 6 half marathons, mostly training on my own. But, I have hit a major wall in terms of being able to get faster. I had one great half marathon in 2012 and since then, they have sucked. What would help me? Obviously working with someone how knows what they're doing. And so, I took that plunge. I have paid a running coach to come up with a plan for me. I will receive a running plan, along with information on strength training and core work. I know all about this things, but I'm not good at doing them. I'm not good at knowing exactly what I needed to do, when, how long, how many reps, ect. I'm hoping this will lead me on the path of a great fall running season.

And you know what? I don't have to be an elite runner to do this. I want to improve something I have been doing for 5 years. This is not longer a passing thing. I really am a runner, who deserves working with someone who can help me get to where I want to be. I may not be great in some people's eyes - I'm slow, I'm overweight, I don't run 100 miles a week. But, I want to improve and I know that in order to be great, I have to work with someone who can get me there.

Remember though, great is relative. As I wrote in my survey that I want to run faster, but I'm not looking to be an elite in 3 months or 3 years. I just want to be a better me runner. A program that works towards my strengths and my interests. I think that's what great is, not what someone else thinks great is, but what you think great is. What makes you feel great is what great means. For me, breaking my half marathon, 5k, or 5 mile PR would be great, which are so much slower than average times. But, that's ok. I am only competing with myself. I can only make myself great by working with what I have. 

And that's what we all must remember. Great depends on the person. We can't all be President or Prime Minister or CEO or the baseball phenom or anything else that society tells us makes us great. What makes us great is determining what is important to you and finding ways to make yourself better at it. You may never walk away from a race winning first place, but you can walk away knowing you did your very best. That's what makes you great. 

What can you do to make you great? What does great mean to you?

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