Growing Weary? You are on the right track! (Part One)

Are you experiencing weariness?  

Weariness can be described as exhaustion, strain, overburdened, and fainting.  Can you relate to any of those words?  

Weariness can range from the onset of the experience of these symptoms to the extreme.  Usually the extreme leads you to one final destination; giving up and quitting.  Knowing that weariness can lead to quitting and quitting ensures failure, it's vital that we find tangible ways to combat and overcome weariness so we can push through it and end the season of weariness with success!

The good news is that weariness is a season, it will pass and it has a definite end.   Though oftentimes we have no choice regarding its onset, we DO have a choice of the outcome.  The challenge is making sure that we don't become the victim of its influence which relentlessly insists we give up and quit the source of our weariness.    This is a challenge because not quitting means we might have to continue enduring and experience the feelings that come with weariness until they pass.  

Most people quit because it is a natural human reaction of our flesh to want relief and comfort. The discomfort of weariness goes against normal human nature, that's why is it a challenge to endure through weariness.  The great news is this fact, that on the other side of enduring weariness is a success that always leads to a new level of gratification through personal growth of character and the reward of attaining your final goal you were striving for in the first place!

History from the beginning of mankind until now affirms the process of greatness ALWAYS including seasons of weariness between the starting point and the finishing point of anything great!

The first step in overcoming weariness is understanding it is a definite element as well as indication of success in what you are doing.   Effort and energy are what bring success in anything and effort and energy always arouse weariness.  In fact they are journey mates.   You can't put forth effort and energy without the weariness setting in at some point. 

 I like to use the analogy of my goal as a mid-life adult who hasn't physically ran since she was a child in 4th grade desiring to run three miles in my workout.  Making the decision to get on a treadmill and hit a stride of running for a certain length of time seemed like a wonderful inspiration until I pushed the speed control and hit the stride of 3.9 for five minutes.  I hadn't expended that much energy in decades and immediately I was experiencing weariness.    My brain told my body "you can't do this", "you can't go any further",  "you need to quit right now",  "you don't really need to do this",  "go over there to the bike and sit down".     And I did the first few times, but I would regret it when I went home feeling dejected and weak.

That is what weariness does to us in our lives.  No matter what the origin of your weariness, the thoughts you have in your heart and mind are the same as the thoughts I had on the treadmill.  But one day my desire to attain success of my goal became stronger than my thoughts of weariness.  As the thoughts of weariness began to speak to me to quit, and the feelings I was having in my legs, my lungs and my heart seemed to affirm my thoughts, my spirit said, "No, today we were going past this point of weariness and see where it leads me."   I literally had to IGNORE the compulsion to quit.     

Something very interesting happened that day on the treadmill.  I found out that my weariness was indeed a state of mind and indeed was temporal.  As I hit a climax of weariness that I almost gave in to, it passed and I found myself with a surge of new energy that made me feel stronger than I felt when I took my first step!  A second wind of energy, vitality and focus that made me go FURTHER than the small goal I had tricked myself into hitting that day!

Here is a major tool for us in our lives.  Endure and push past this season of weariness.  On the other side of those moments you are convinced you "can't take anymore"  is a surge of faith, focus and renewed vision that will swiftly carry you to your goal!   So DON'T QUIT just because you are weary.  In fact, GO FURTHER and with MORE DETERMINATION than ever before!