Overload Yourself

The overload principle is essential to strength gains and performance increases in our physical health. It's an idea of doing one more repetition or one more set to stretch yourself. I found myself thinking about this while running steps this afternoon and adding another rep at the end of my workout. I didn't expect that one extra run was going to bring drastic, immediate change. I do know that if I continue to add on to what I am doing that I will see the benefits.

I could use this same principle in a lot of other areas of my life too. Taking the the time to talk with my girls for a few more minutes at breakfast, reading one more passage of Scripture, praying for a few more minutes for specific needs, and holding myself to areas of personal discipline when I'm ready to quit will all eventually bring improvement. The truth is that learning to stretch ourselves in small amounts will eventually lead to big gains. It's a matter of focusing on the extra energy needed to push through with a larger benefit in mind.