This past weekend Lee Hodges won his first PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. The TV announcers made sure that the audience knew that he had played in 65 PGA events without a win. Players on the Tour and the announcers who cover it on TV know that it is not easy to win on the PGA Tour. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to stick with the practices and it takes determination and self-confidence to persevere through the disappointments. But, as the announcers also pointed out, there is nothing like that first win, that victory that you have been working so hard to achieve for so long.
It is not unusual to see athletes break down into tears when they have final achieved a goal or won a match or game for which they had been training for some time. That is why the Olympics next year will be so dramatic for so many athletes. They will have trained for 4 years for those winning moments.
In our everyday lives there are probably things that you have been working towards (training for) for a long time. These are not trivial little things to you. Maybe they are life goals for education or achieving some level at work. Perhaps they are positions of responsibility that you aspire to or maybe they involve seeing the success of a child or spouse that you have worked hard to support.
Whatever your victory or success, take the time to celebrate and relish it. Reflect for a few moments on the hard work involved and let yourself admit that it was worth it. Sure, you can look forward to new goals and start working towards them; but take a breath and take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back. You did it! You reached that goal that has been driving you for so long. Feel good about it. Give a fist pump for yourself. Put that win in your mental trophy case and look at it for a few moments before you move on with life.
Celebrate your wins.
Posted by Norm Werner 
I suspect that the load that Holtz was referring to had more to do with the loads of obligations or stress or guilt or remorse or sadness that we all pick up in life over time. For many, the “life” loads that occur are not carried well and they end up breaking down under the load. Some point to the inability to deal with (to carry) these loads as the root cause of depression and suicide.
loved one, the end to a relationship, the loss of a job come to mind. However, the loads can also include the regret at having made a thoughtless remark about someone or the guilt that comes after passing by the person in need of help.
Maybe you can refocus all of the energy that you have been putting into regret over the loss of that old job into doing better at your new job. Maybe you can turn the remorse of having made that insensitive remark to a fellow worker into motivation for being a better person towards others.
that you just put them down without thinking about it. That is the hand of God and he is on both ends of the strap that is lifting you up. Let God carry your load; you’ve things to do helping others with their loads. Don’t worry. It won’t break you down. You know how to carry those loads – God is on the other end of your strap.
and overcame or the things that we discovered about ourselves or about life in general. Yet it is that collection of insights that comprises what wisdom that we have accumulated in our lives. It is our ability to tap into that pool of wisdom that helps us get through life and face new challenges.
and experience successes. Wishes, hopes and dreams may start as rather nebulous ideas, but in the fleshing out of those vague thoughts comes our life plans. We set timetables and establish goals along the way. We figure out different paths to achieve those goals and we deal with the setbacks that may occur and we pursue them. Beyond all of that for this life; through our faith, we hold onto the hope for the better life to come.
goals. It is also the nerve and bravery that you need to stand on your beliefs and principals in the face of adversity or setbacks. Your backbone holds you up when life tries to beat you down. Sometimes we need to strengthen our backbone, our resolve to go on, and that can be done through prayer, where we ask for strength from God to see us through. Our faith works to strengthen our backbones.
seriously. Laughter is a release for your soul from the things that would weight it down. Sometimes seeing the humor in even a bad situation makes the difference between being able to deal with it and letting it overwhelm you. Sometimes you have to force humor back into your life, because things seem so bad. Keep a couple of quick links to YouTube videos your favorite comedy routines. That way you can go watch them and they will probably do the trick to light you up a bit.
throws at them. Some refuse to accept that something has happened or is happening. Strangely, some confuse belief with facts and many have even bought into the concept of “alternative facts” or the thought that “the truth is not the truth”. These people stand outside on a cold winter day and ask, “What ever happened to global warming? We could use some of that warming right now.” For those confused people ignorance is temporary bliss; however, in the end, it is still ignorance.
foundation of faith upon which to base their reaction to events in their lives. For many it is that inability to see a way OUT of the situation that is the key hang up. They are looking for the wrong thing. What they need to focus upon is a way THRU the events that have happened or which are happening – a way forward in life. That “no way out” mentality leads to suicides as an answer. There is always a better answer.
situation is just to learn from it, so that you don’t make the same mistake again. That’s something. That’s positive. That’s making the best of it.
NormsMilfordBlog 