“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

~Teddy Roosevelt

As I was training with the kettlebell this morning, I was really excited to complete 20 snatches, 2 overhead squats, several sets of swings and 2 Turkish Get Ups on each side – all with the 35 lb kettlebell! I was elated to realize that I am nearing the fruition of a goal that I set nearly nine years ago!

It has not been easy reaching these goals. I have worked really hard and have kept my goals in mind but that’s also not to say that I have taken a complete straight, unwavering and level road to this point. I haven’t. My journey has looked pretty erratic at times; I have been side-tracked; I have nearly given up; I have thrown my hands up in the air in frustration but I didn’t quit! In my mind, quitting was, and is, never really an option. How can I quit something that is part of my life?

My goal, this core goal, is not something that I am striving to reach so that I can say, “I’ve arrived” and then move onto the next big, great thing. This goal is intimately intertwined with my life and is part of who I am, the better me, the stronger me who I wish to be. I have also written time and time again, telling you, my readers, friends and clients, that the joy is in the journey, and it truly is! I’ve always felt that I didn’t want to rush the process of change because I wanted it to be permanent. Why skip the good parts, the parts that build character, integrity and endurance, and also ensure that I never want to go backwards?

The “good” parts also don’t automatically equate to happy or fun times, but they are “good” because of the learning that happens within them. Just as we don’t truly learn until we have failed, life doesn’t really get “good” until we have failed. When we achieve after failure, we arrive happier, stronger and better because of our lessons in failure.

Life isn’t about success or failure, dieting or binging, strength or weakness. Life is about all of those things, done in moderation, over time, with conscious and physical effort. Life is messy and so are our lives. We don’t have to choose between the extremes. We can experience all of the extremes that life has to offer without spending too much time in any one of them.  Life isn’t an “either/or” proposition. Life is about living, fully and with intention.

May you find your own sense of balance this week and make the most from your successes and failures.

Namaste,

Susie