Endurance
Posted on 05. Oct, 2009 by Linda Lord in Blog, Character development
Endurance is the word of the week. Defined as, “The measure of a person’s stamina or persistence”, endurance can be the definitive characteristic between people who get things done and those who quit. Endurance also refers to the length of time that an individual can perform work of a given intensity. It may be defined as the inward strength to withstand stress and do your personal best.
Endurance depends on many factors, such as focus, the technical abilities to perform the work assigned or goal being pursued; the ability to use physiological and psychological resources wisely; accept both instruction and correction; to commit with your entire being to the completion of the task; and to not waste time, energy, and talent on meaningless activities.
Another key to developing endurance is to collect bits of hope from family and friends, mental health professionals, and spiritual advisors. Hope is the key ingredient that fuels determination. Let others encourage and support you in your goals. Talk to them frequently when you are feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. Endurance may be a matter of sticking with something until you reach the finish line, but no one gets to the finish line alone.
“I Quit”
Here are my keys, my credit cards, my driver’s licence, and my cell phone. You can have them all. I quit. I just can’t do it anymore. I spend all day listening to customers complain about everything from the temperature to the state of the economy. I smile and pretend it doesn’t bother me; but it does. It pulls me down and I can’t fake it anymore.
I get home and I am expected to shift gears without any transition. I am supposed to pick up after everyone, cook their meals, clean the house, and run interference when they squabble. This is not my idea of ‘coming home’. I want my home to be a place of peace and tranquility; a place to retreat to at the end of the day to get replenished for the next day. The only time I get that is when no one is there or I’m out of town on business. It’s just not right.
No one warned me about what a marathon life is. A marathon that must be run at a sprinter’s pace. It can’t be done. I’m tired of being a grown-up under these conditions. I want to go back to the days when candy was the common currency. Back to a time when I looked to the sky to see what shapes the clouds were forming; rather than waiting for an impending downpour. A time when a trip to the park meant swings; not a shortcut to the next appointment.
It feels like I’m wasting my time on the wrong things. I’m focusing on activities instead of on the things that really matter to me. I want to find that place where I am prepared to put my whole heart into everything I do. I remember a time when that was true of me. I knew what to do and I did it. I want those days back. I want to be able to draw on my inner core to sustain me; to be able to withstand whatever came at me; convinced that what I was doing was important and that I was on purpose. I want that back so badly.
What has changed and what do I have to do to get it back? I remember that I used to spend more time with God and with my friends. I used to spend time on thinking about what I was doing and what I wanted to do. There was a time when there was time to consider my life. I want that time back. Starting today. Maybe I don’t have to quit after all. Give me my stuff back. I’m gonna slap that number on my back and get back in the marathon.
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