5 Facts About Endurance and Dreams

Many bloggers are reposting their most popular posts during the last two weeks of the year. I tend to cheer for the underdog, so I’m going to repost posts that weren’t popular, but I think they deserve another chance.

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A post for Trust 30 … a 30-day writing challenge I participated in during June.

Today’s Prompt:

Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.

Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.

The only thing left is to, you know, go make it happen. What are you waiting for?

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My Response:

I was born asking why. I’ve taken steps outside the norm. I’ve dared to be bold. (though trembling and shaking at times)

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I think having bold dreams is good, but dreams usually need the companion of endurance.

At age twenty, I married and my husband and I followed our dream of living life outside of the strict traditional Mennonite (think almost Amish) world we’d grown up in. For a time, it was almost like moving to a foreign country as we learned how to do life outside those boxes.

After a few failed attempts as entrepreneurs (and wanting to quit many days) we founded and operated a successful business. That was fun, but exhausting, so after twelve years it was time for a change. We sold our business, property and house. We put our household stuff in storage and packed up a motorhome with essentials for ourselves and our three boys. We planned to travel around the states for about a year … before returning to ‘real life’.

Six months into that once-in-a-lifetime trip, we had an accident 3,000 miles from home. My husband and boys were fine … I almost died. The long, tough road of recovery and learning to live with a new normal (pain, limitations and a deformed leg) has left me more timid than I’ve ever been … but I’m slowly getting my grove boldness back. One positive thing is that it strengthen my endurance.

I’d been a runner for ten years pre-accident so that had given me some endurance — recovering from my injuries and then getting back to running post-accident gave me a whole new level of endurance. This prompt reminded me how endurance is the key to overcoming the obstacles to the dreams that we have during moments when we are daring to be bold.

5 Facts about Endurance:

Dreaming is necessary and it is easy, fun and doesn’t force you to do anything. Endurance to overcome the obstacles to make that dream happen is hard and can cause you to reach deeper than you ever imagined you would.

1. Endurance is like a muscle … the more you use it, the stronger it grows.

2. Your dreams have to match your endurance muscle. Break them up into attainable goals.

3. Endurance is one or many good habits repeated until you reach your goal.

4. When you want to quit … reach back and relive times when endurance helped you accomplish a dream.

5. Never give up! Your body, mind and spirit have deeper stores of endurance than you realize.

Be bold enough to add endurance to your dreams and your chances of them succeeding are raised at least a hundred-fold.

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How/where do you find endurance for the dreams you want to accomplish?

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My other Trust 3o posts:

If I only had 15 minutes left to live.

One belief I have that my family does not have.

My Biggest Challenge

Where in the World?

5 Things I’m Taking off my To Do List