It is usually always a scary long distance between where you are now and where you want to be.

Which is why it’s important that you focus on progress rather than where you are right now. 

In other words, focus on taking it one step at a time. That doesn’t mean you need to go slow. It just means that you need to stay focused on what really matters and not let yourself become discouraged because success hasn’t already happened. 

The last thing that is going to happen is that you’re going to realize success has happened. 

You turn around and realize that you have achieved your goal. Along the way, you’re just taking it one step at a time. 

I learned that lesson for myself running my first hundred mile race.

While it seems daunting to run through the backwoods of northern Arkansas for 100 miles straight, I suddenly realized when I arrived that I wasn’t really running one 100-mile race. I was running 25 4-mile races. See, there were aid stations along the way. 

All I had to do was make it from one aid station to the next.

They were usually four to five miles apart. Instead of running 100 miles in one big, long, scary stretch, I just had to hop from one station to the next. I was counting down the number of aid stations. That first race I finished a pretty difficult challenge in a little over 19 hours. 

Had I gone into the race knowing that I would be running for 19 straight hours, I probably would have been so discouraged and scared that I would have talked myself out of running it. 

It turned out to be just a matter of steps. What are those steps for you? What are the milestones that you need to achieve on your journey towards success? 

You’re going to have to prepare. You’re going to have to learn.

That’s usually followed by an initial try and a bit of failure. But if you’re willing to repeat the cycle and keep learning, trying, and evolving, you’ll end up bouncing across the finish line looking back at your accomplishment, wide-eyed and amazed that you actually pulled it off. 

Your perspective matters. Focus matters. Don’t be discouraged by where you need to get to. 

Just start getting there. One step at a time.

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