To the Finish

Sports teaches so many valuable lessons that can often be difficult to learn. That was painfully clear this Monday to American runner Molly Huddle. She was competing in Beijing in the World Athletics Championships in the 10,000 meter race. She had put herself in position to win the bronze medal, but slowed slightly at the end to celebrate and was barely passed by a fellow competitor. Instead of being on the podium she was bumped to fourth place and received no medal for her efforts. It's not difficult to see she would have finished in the top three if she had held off her celebration until after crossing the finish line. I feel confident in saying Molly will never finish a race again without running completely through the finish line.

Finishing well is not necessarily something that comes naturally. Sometimes we're guilty of celebrating progress too early and not following all the way through to completion. If we take our eyes off the goal too soon, we might not finish as strongly as we hoped. This dedication to finishing strong is part of our relationships, personal goals, finances, parenting, and professional desires. This doesn't mean we can't stop to celebrate milestones and victories, but that we need to do it at the right time so we don't miss out on big moments.

I don't want to be disappointed in myself because I let up two steps too soon.