Giving Up is Easy...

According to Business Insider, 80% of resolutions fail by February! 80%!!! That is an extremely high number, but did it really surprise you? Most people this year have mentioned to me that they are not setting resolutions because they know that they never keep them. Maybe the word resolution scares people and its like an automatic fail because they have a negative connotation with the word resolution. Most of the time this is true. When hard things are put into words like resolution, weight loss, fitness etc, people tend to shy away or be scared of it because it is always associated as "failure" for them. But what really is failure? Failure has many definitions, it can be "omission of expected or required action," "abrupt cessation of normal functioning," or "the state of not functioning." Most use the first definition when talking about resolutions. When you expect yourself to do something and it doesn't get done, you say you have failed. But what is the time frame of your success or failure? Never in these definitions does it say "if you do not reach the expected action or outcome in 1 week it is failure." Time is not mentioned in these definitions, so should you put a limit on your "successes" and "failures"? Sometimes those successes are time sensitive, but almost all things you want to accomplish can be tried for again, year after year until you are successful. The other two definitions I like. Only when you stop functioning, then you have failed. Giving up on a dream, goal, resolution or whatever you call it, is easy. Its hard to persevere, its hard to keep going when you have been told no countless times, when it seems like there is no way to achieve the thing you have been working towards for weeks, months, or even years! Only when you give up, have you failed. If you have a burning desire for something, you want something for yourself, family, life, body, career or whatever! You have to go for it. Decide what you are willing to do and do that thing. Its going to be hard, you'll want to give up. People will tell you that you don't have what it takes, that you should forget about it, that you're crazy. Sometimes the means to achieve your goals are too much and you are trying to do it without spending all this money etc and people tell you to do it anyway. "Don't worry about how much it will cost," they say. In my life right now i want to go to Physical Therapy school so badly! But I have always wanted to do it debt free. Guys, do you know how expensive it is? Craziness, plus, nobody wants to give funding for PT's. They give it to Doctors, Dentists, PA's etc but forget about the people who rehab them after the Doctors see them! When I started this journey 2 years ago, I honestly didn't think I would have even been accepted. So on January 28th when I got the email that said I had been accepted, I was so excited I forgot about my original plan to wait until I received funding up front to go. I started to let people sway my thoughts, I thought that it might not be so bad to take out loans and go. The more I thought about it, the more I became anxious. And listen friends, the Lord does not put anxiousness in you. Anxiousness is a part of this world and our worry in it. I knew the anxiousness was there to tell me to take a step back and trust God in this process, I mean, He already did some crazy things to make this happen. Loans are not an option, but I'm not giving up. 2 years in, still no sign (from the outside) that I will be able to go debt free. But I hope in a God that is bigger than anything in this world. He works in my life. I know His plan is good for me and I will trust it. Giving up now is easy. Loans are easy (thanks Dad for that line). Its hard to try and get funding, but oh so worth it. So don't let people deter you from a good thing. My goal is to go to PT school debt free because I want to travel one day, I want a family one day and all those things cost money. I refuse to be 33 and have an umbrella of debt that imprisons me. That's too young to not be free. What's your goal and how are you going to get it? Don't give up. Even if you didn't lose those 5 lbs, even if you gained back 15 lbs after losing 20... Its worth it. Pick yourself up and keep going because giving up is easy. Don't take the easy way out, be strong my friend. In Jesus we can do all things. He is your strength and hope. Use it.

Love you guys.

Christine