Bit by bit
Some days you don’t swim a mile.
For this to make more sense I should give some context. In January I set a New Years Resolution to swim a total of 10 miles this year. My thought process was that the majority of this would naturally take place in the summer.
At the close of the summer I had swum 2 miles. Not surprisingly, this didn’t suddenly turn itself around the following few months. Late November when I was reflecting on my goals for the year, I thought about the swimming. I mentioned to a friend that I might try to squeeze it in and they responded in a way that pushed me. The friend asked me “are you going to or not? Because you either are or you aren’t but you won’t if you don’t decide.” That little conversation was very convicting to me in my approach to life. There are so many times where I give a sort of soft commitment to something because then it gives me more wiggle room if I don’t do it. While I am a huge advocate for having grace for yourself and breaking down perfectionism, there is a reality to be said that the opposite side is being willing to realistically push yourself. You won’t swim 10 miles by accident.
Goals aren’t a bad thing. We should be pushing ourselves and challenging ourselves. If there are things you want to accomplish, then you should be investing yourself to reach those goals.
Since I decided that this was a goal I could accomplish, I have been actively dedicating time to achieving it. I have chipped away bit by bit at reaching that goal, and I have been proud of the progress I have made. I have broken the halfway mark on my total, and a couple days ago I officially swam a whole mile.
Last night I swam a mile again, but this mile didn’t look the same as the first one. The first mile I swam I was excited to do so and determined to hit that mark. I felt energetic. My grit was set.
When I swam last night I felt tired. It was coming on the heals of a good, but long day. I wasn’t sure how far I was going to swim, but I was determined to still show up and put in some work.
I decided to commit to 45 minutes. By now I have begun to regularly hit a half mile in 30 minutes, so I knew it should be easy to pass that in the 45 minutes. Little by little I decided to extend my goal. I hit 45 laps and told myself I could finish the 10. I hit 50 and said I could do 10 more. I hit 60 and said I could finish the mile.
Some days hitting your goals might look like passion and energy. Some days hitting your goals might look like showing up and taking it a little at a time.
You don’t have to always do your best to make progress. Doing something will help you reach your goals, even when it’s small. Those wins are still wins.
When I wrote about stewarding, this is a component I believe goes directly with that call. The way you are choosing to invest your time and energy show what you reflect and your character. You won’t accomplish things in your life by accident. You won’t become more like Jesus by accident. Who you are is made up of how you choose to live all those little moments. You don’t need to be the fastest, or the strongest, or the smartest, or the most accomplished. What you can be is someone who works hard, someone who invests their time wisely, someone who chooses to grow. The things God has called you to are good. Growth is good. Make those changes.
