My big goals are, not surprisingly, big goals. Get a job. Keep paying down the mortgage and the car. Lose ten to twelve pounds. Become a Professional Engineer. I can't accomplish these without the little things.
The everyday goals give me the continual motivation to just keep on going toward what really matters. Clean the house? I know I need to sweep five rooms, do laundry and the dishwasher, put away pots and pans, wash the baseboards. Finding the job? Working networking opportunities, searching, writing cover letters, revising the resume, selecting companies. Knocking those tasks off my list really makes my day!
When I played college Field Hockey, my dream goal was lofty - win a D3 championship. You'd have to likely win the conference to earn a bid to the NCAA tourney. Winning the conference meant winning big games, nationally ranked teams. I didn't want to just be on a team that won a championship, I wanted to be a contributing player. A starter. And that required commitment in the off season, spring season, and obviously in season.
My summers consisted of three to five double sessions a week to get my body conditioned to needing to be available for more than one workout in pre-season. Long runs for endurance in the morning, and focused skill workouts and speed development after work. On weekends, I waited to do my workouts until midday and early afternoon. It just seemed worth it. Played in a league with the team once a week, and we commonly played pick up once a week as well. When late August rolled around, I wasn't just in shape, I was ready to dominate.
Unfortunately we never made it out of the conference. I am in awe of the teams and student athletes that make it so much further. Boyfriend's oldest younger sister has two D3 championships. How cool is that?!
I am watching the SEC Championship Game, Alabama beating Florida in the fourth quarter. Tonight's win isn't the big goal. It is just the current step in winning the national championship. Watching the UCLA v. Stanford women's soccer semi finals yesterday had me close to teary eyed thinking about what it felt like to be so near the pinnacle of your sport.
Originally, I had wondered what the feeling was to be at the pinnacle of the sport, but even a win in that game only guaranteed finishing in at least second place. I'm reminded of when Cal Bouchard, former Boston College point guard who played for the Canadian Olypic team in Sydney (2000). I can't find the article that was in the Globe, but she wrote about how wonderful so many people thought it was to have the ability to play in the Olympics. Her thoughts on the subject (as I recall almost 10 years later) were that it was an honor to play for your country, but that the real point is to win gold, see the Canadian flag waving high, and hear the national anthem played. Everything along the way is just part of the grander plan.
One of my favorite lines of the Alpha Gamma Delta's purpose: "To possess high ideals and to attain somewhat unto them". Go big. If you don't get there, at least there are the small victories along the way.
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