The Desire to Be Somewhere Tomorrow That Is Better Than Today

“Progress is impossible if you only attempt to do the things that you have always done.”  Mike Krzyzewski

Progress is something we all desire, to be somewhere tomorrow that is better than today.  To be more skilled, more successful, more content than we are right now.  But progress has a price.  It requires action, and inevitably, change.

When I was in high school, a couple of friends and I decided to cycle to Yosemite, which was about 225 miles away.  While I rode my bike a lot, I’d never cycled more than 20 miles.  And my bike had actually been broken, so I hadn’t been riding in months.

We stayed up all night fixing my bike and in the morning set off with our bikes weighed down with all the necessary supplies to make the trip.  For a trip that began as a whim, it became a truly life-shaping event.

It was harder than I imagined, but equally, more rewarding.  Each of us, at different moments, melted down, believing we couldn’t peddle another foot.  But with the patience and encouragement of the others, we each pushed through our melt down moments and pressed on.  Perseverance is paramount to progress.

There were some painfully long stretches that seemed to go on forever, but there was one saving grace.  Throughout the trip, along the side of the road, were the mileage markers.  Each new mile marker was a small encouragement that progress was being made.  When we reached the half way mark it created a renewed sense of energy and optimism because we now knew we’d already traveled the distance we had left to go.  And with each new mile marker we knew we had traveled farther than we had to go.

If you are looking for more out of life, get on the road and go someplace you’ve never been or jump on your bike and start pedaling.  But make sure to pay attention to the mile markers.  They will remind you that you are making progress, and progress makes all the difference in the world.

“Life is  either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”  Helen Keller