While chopping
up vegetables, the knife slipped and I gave myself a sizeable gash. I bit my
lip so I wouldn’t scream.
“Why?!” I
thought with helplessness. I was trying to eat more healthily, and injury was
my reward? What was the point of attempting to make a positive change when it
caused me such pain?
I’ve noticed
this has been a common theme in my life. No, not having mishaps with sharp
objects (I chalk that one up to pure klutziness). It just feels like whenever I’ve
come to the point where I decide to be better than I am, I suddenly face a wall
of opposition.
So what do I do
about it? Do I hang my head and vow to never make a goal again? Not a chance. I’ve
realized I just need to try harder.
Sometimes,
encountering serious opposition is a red flag that you aren’t supposed to go
down a certain path. Other times, however, it means you are on the brink of excellence.
As cliché as it sounds, you have to listen to your heart to know the difference
between the two.
I came across a
quote from Jeffrey R. Holland that says, “If for a while the
harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best
people who ever lived.” (His whole
speech is excellent. Read it here!)
As I’m entering
the last few months of my graduate program, I am getting nervous. The final
project is daunting and I don’t know where to start. However, I want to do what
my mother suggested and “finish in a blaze of glory.” The final stretch is not
the time to wimp out.
The other
frightening part is that I’ve come to the end of my list. When I was 16, I had
to write down my future plans for school. My list ended with a masters degree.
Yikes!
So now what do I
do? To quote an academic source (namely ‘Tangled’), “Well, that’s the good part
I guess. You get to go find a new dream.”
Is it going to
be hard? Yes. Will I encounter opposition in the next step? Yes. Will it be
worth it? Oh yes.
I may not end up
changing the world, but I can always change myself for the better. Maybe I'll fail, but at least I’m trying. After all, slicing your finger one time while chopping vegetables doesn’t make them any less healthy
for you.
To quote Jeffrey
R. Holland again,
“The best things are always worth
finishing…Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow. Dream dreams
and see visions. Work toward their realization. Wait patiently when you have no
other choice. Lean on your sword and rest a while, but get up and fight again.”
(Excerpt from the great speech “However Long and Hard the Road”)
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