Enjoying The Ride: By Kyle Malnati

One of the great benefits of parenthood is that your children remind you in subtle ways to relax a little bit.

Enjoying the Ride

Have you ever wanted to accomplish a goal so big that its all you can think about? It could be graduation, losing weight, a promotion, paying off debt, running a marathon, or some other challenging endeavor. These aren’t just run-of-the-mill every day tasks on your to-do list… these are major life accomplishments.

Climb Your Mountain

I think that we all enjoy setting and then hitting our goals. There’s a tremendous feeling of satisfaction when you work really hard and make your dreams come true. Achieving our goals takes a lot of determination, focus, and intensity.

Achieving Your Goals

I can be an intense and competitive person at times; these are traits that have served me well when they are under control. However, when I’m not careful, that same determination to accomplish something can leave me feeling worn out.

I find that’s my state of mind when I’m trying to move too many things at once. I’m a husband, father, and small business owner, so there are many areas of life where I want to create wins. I constantly work on goals in those areas throughout the year. It always seems that I am thinking about the next mountain I would like to climb… sometimes before I’m finished climbing the current mountain.

Big goals require determination which forces us into an odd contradiction… losing sight of enjoying the ride we’re on. It causes us to forget to enjoy the thrill of the downhill as we set our eyes on the next hill ahead. This lead me to find the following Bible verse:

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” ~2 Corinthians 8:11-12 (NIV)

Every life accomplishment needs to be celebrated for an appropriate amount of time. Wait a second, I’m not advocating laziness… this isn’t an invitation to stop working hard. It’s just is a reminder to enjoy the ride when it gets easy and to be CONTENT with where you are today.

Enjoy the sensation of going fast down the other side of a hill after you’ve peddled hard up the hill.

Enjoy riding a wave after you spent all morning paddling to find it.

Enjoy the deafening sound of applause when you walk across the stage to accept your diploma.

Enjoy the taste of a lobster dinner when you paid off your student loans.

Source: Enjoying the Ride