Thursday, September 8, 2011

Believe it, Achieve it...a letter from my past

Today I started dusting off the built in shelves/cupboard in our dining room, and the next thing I know, I'm cleaning it out and getting rid of junk that has just been accumulating dust for a few years now.
In one cupboard, I keep all our pictures (you know, before digital cameras and SD cards). I have some things in there from my high school years. Talk about bringing back memories. I've laughed and cried this morning. And one little piece of paper that I found couldn't have come at a better time.

I played volleyball in high school from junior high until my junior year. My coach was former military and a West Point graduate. She was tough in every sense of the word. I remember early morning practices filled with drill after drill. Physical fitness was her first priority followed by learning the skills of the game. She always pushed us to be the best team and individual we could be. She taught me so much more about life than she did about volleyball.

Every week, she would hand out the team newsletter, "Attack Lines." Some of my teammates put them in the trash on their way out of practice, but I remember having them hanging in my locker and in my bedroom. I really admired her, so I took everything she had to teach me and valued it greatly. As time marched on, and I graduated from high school, I decided to let go of some of the newsetters that had once met so much to me. For some reason, though, I kept one.

I found it today.

The title: Takes a little more to be a champion.

This particular newsletter was about the art of success, and these are the quotes she included:
"There are no secrets of success. Success is doing the things you know you should do. Success is not doing the things you know you should not do."

"Success is not confined to any one part of your personality but it related to the development of all the parts: body, mind, heart and spirit. IT IS MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TOTAL SELF."

"Success is discovering your best talents, skills and abilities and applying them where they will make the most effective contribution to your fellow man."

"Success is 99% attitude."

"Success is a continuing upward spiral of progress. It is perpetual growth."

"Success is relative, individual and personal. It is your answer to the problem of making your minutes, hours, weeks, months and years add up to a good life." ~Wilford Peterson

"A champion not only dreams, but prepares for the adventure and thrill of success through hard work, persistence, and determination. Victory is so sweet, but to hear the words 'Well Done' will be the ultimate reward! To God be the glory for the great things He has done!!!" ~Coach Davies

"You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominant aspiration." ~James Allen

"Believe it, achieve it!"

Talk about finding this at an appropriate time in my life. I'd like to think God's hand was guiding me to this today. After my incident last night with the neighborhood kids taunting me as I walked, I needed a pick-me-up to remind me that I CAN and WILL do this.

Success truly is a personal thing. I can't measure myself next to anyone else but the woman I see in the mirror looking back at me. Success really is 99% attitude, like Coach said. If my attitude is dreary and "woe is me," I'm not going to succeed at finding my inner strength and improving my health.
The one quote that will stick with me is the first one: There are no secrets to success. Success is doing the things you know you should do. Success is not doing the things you know you should not do.

There! That's the only secret to being healthy and losing weight. Just do things right, and you'll be successful! Choose healthy foods, exercise and smile. The number on the scale will go down. It's that simple. Day by day, do what you know is right, and you'll see the rewards when you look in the mirror.

In the words of Coach, if you believe it, you can achieve it!

I'm taking this newsletter that is well over 12 years old, and I'm hanging it up in my bathroom right by the mirror. Every time I see it, I will be reminded that I will be successful. One day at a time, each daily success will add up to a healthy new me.

No comments:

Post a Comment