Purpose

As I continue to build on goal setting for the new year that is nearly 3 weeks old already, I feel one of the biggest contributors to successfully reaching a goal or resolution is finding your “why”. 

As I have mentioned before, I am frequently asked how we successfully ran from coast to coast in the summer of 2015 and then down the Mississippi River in 2017.  Despite numerous obstacles, and lots of unknowns leading into our journey, together, we were able to persevere and accomplish our mission. 

One of the greatest reasons we were able to overcome complications and endure extremely long days was we knew our “why”.  Shamus had set a goal for our family some 24 months earlier, and in all honesty, it took us about 3-4 more months to fully believe his dream of running from coast to coast was feasible for our family.  There were so many hurdles to clear just to get to the starting line…in the beginning it was hard for us to see past them.  However, with Shamus’ youthful optimism and belief… and smile persuading us, we soon all bought into his grand plan. 

Over the next 18 months as we planned and trained and fundraised, our passion and our “why” only became stronger.  We decided we would donate chairs to kids with disabilities along our route, we got the unbelievable support of Ainsley’s Angels, we secured sponsors who wanted to part of the epic adventure.  As those pieces feel into place our drive and determination multiplied.  As I trained for the physical stress of running 56 miles per day I logged countless miles without hesitation.  I would set the alarm for 4:00 to hammer out a marathon on the treadmill before work in the morning.  As the “why” inside me grew, I was up before the alarm and was running, planning, and thinking about our goal constantly. 

My advice as you set your goals is to find a purpose for those goals that you deeply, truly and purely believe in with everything you are.  It may take some convincing of yourself in the beginning but once you find your true WHY, you will figure out HOW no matter what!

#TogetehrWeShall find our #Purpose