Happy Monday!
I hope your new week is off to a great start. Starting leads me to today’s word-of-the-week…
Training
A while back I heard a catchy little phrase that’s been bouncing around in my brain. A speaker said:
Stop trying. Start training.
Do you ever get frustrated with trying so hard and not getting results? Ever thought it’s not fair? Here’s a tough question: Have you done the required training?
Want to run a marathon? You probably can’t, at least not today. Doesn’t matter how hard you try, you’ll most likely fail.
But you can train for a marathon. And if you train well, you will be much better prepared for the desired result.
Want to know the Bible? No matter how hard you try, you won’t know the Bible tomorrow morning.
But what if you train to know the Bible? What if you read a bit every day, study and pray and listen?
We look at the big stuff at the end of the journey and it seems impossible. But the important outcomes are usually built on smaller stuff—habits, simple daily acts that make up the training. And we find out that when we do those small things faithfully and consistently, they add up to something big.
Most important results are like that. Trying hard might not get you much. But if you stop trying and start training, you change yourself.
The thing about training is that you can’t do it all at once. It takes a long time, and it’s boring, and sometimes you can’t see any progress.
Training requires faith. You have to believe that all of those hours will add up to something important, even when you can’t see it. It takes perseverance and determination.
What’s that big thing you want to do? What training needs to happen—today, this week—to get you on the road?
I’m riding on a stationary trainer in my garage today because I want to do a 1500 mile ride in seven months. What are you training for?
What’s something you’re trying hard to accomplish? Can you see the value of “Stop trying. Start training”?