Day 80: 18.3 miles/1:06
”Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.”
The past few weeks I have been so focused on the countdown to the one-hundredth ride, that I have not really been celebrating the accomplishments of the day. I have been having difficulty writing, my body has been very sore, and I am eagerly looking forward to completing the commitment. I have so focused on being done that I have stopped enjoying the trip. This quote opened my eyes to my own attitudes and to the effect it is having on my journey.
One of the reasons I chose 100 days for this journey was to demonstrate to Brandon the power of making a commitment to something that seemed far off enough to be unrealistic. For Brandon to realize much of what he wants to accomplish near term would take a year of continued success. A year to just simply get to a point of absolute progress is a long time. However, broken into daily accomplishments that move him toward his goals may me psychologically manageable. I am using 100 Pedals as an example of that daily commitment.
For a while, the daily accomplishment was easy and inspiring until I started to focus on the finish line. Shortly after the halfway mark, the emphasis of each ride was how it was bringing me closer to my goal. The more I focused on the goal, the more I realized how much more work I had to do. And, the more I realized the amount of work in front of me, the more I started to focus on how much work this really was. I was looking at each ride as part of an assignment and not the adventure it started out as. My behaviors toward the ride were, in some respect, re-enforcing Brandon’s view of his journey – it is a long way out there and it is too difficult to believe possible.
What a wake-up call. These rides are part of a wonderful adventure. They are not a task or an assignment. Each ride is an opportunity to celebrate a daily accomplishment, to reconnect and center my mind and spirit, and to provide inspiration and hope for Brandon and others. Each day I go out and ride, I am doing something that helps me, guides me, and provides me strength. These are not assignments – these are gifts of celebration.
When working on a goal, the journey is the lesson. The finish line is where you celebrate success. As you work on your goals remember each day is an opportunity to celebrate accomplishment and to learn from the experiences of your commitment. When you find yourself making work out of it look for something to enjoy and celebrate about your activities – that is where you will begin to enjoy the journey again.
