Last week, I heard a quote from Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant- ‘It’s not the will to win that matters- everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters’.
What a great lesson to teach our children and remind ourselves as adults. We all have a struggle in our life, a mountain to climb, or an obstacle to overcome. So often, we concentrate on how much we want to conquer our battles or receive that promotion. How much time do we actually spend preparing to win? When life becomes difficult, do we will ourselves to give up? Do we provide encouragement to others to keep preparing, or do we comfort them into accepting their present situation is their destiny?
Preparation is difficult, stressful, exhausting and sometimes extremely slow to show results. It also develops a strong work ethic, confidence, perseverance and gratitude. The person who continues to prepare when the odds are against them is the person I want on my team. A strong person isn’t the person who always wins. The strong person is the one who has the will to continue to prepare to win, even when the odds say they won’t.
It is human nature to complain and become complacent in our present situations. Fortunately, we were all given the will to overcome our life struggles. The willingness to use it is a choice. How will you choose to live today?
‘We all have unfair situations and things we don’t like. You can get bitter, discouraged and sour, or you can see it as fertilizer and say, ‘This difficulty is not going to defeat me, it’s going to promote me. It’s not going to hinder me, it’s going to help me. Don’t just go through it, grow through it.’ Joel Osteen
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