GET MOTIVATED!

What does it take for you to do your personal best? What has to happen for you to "kick into gear" and improve at something. Today at school, as I was heading to the office I passed the gym class...truth be told...I have OFTEN thought that I should have been a P.E. teacher! The class was running the 40 yd. dash in the hallway...OF COURSE...where there is a competition and race happening I HAVE TO STOP and see what is happening...

As I watched student after student run down the hall, it became QUITE obvious that they were NOT giving much effort...one young man...a 7th grader...about as big as me and he was OBVIOUSLY an athlete ran the 40 in 6.7 seconds...REALLY!?!?!?!?!?!?! 6.7! Of course being the very mild-mannered...quiet person I am...(Sarcasm for those you who may not know me well!!) I told him that I could beat that time EASILY wearing my dress shirt...dress pants...AND dress shoes.

OF COURSE...after I said this I went down the hall to run the 40...LET ME REMIND YOU that the students are in their gym clothes and I am in my dress pants AND DRESS SHOES! I might add that I already ran 3 miles this morning before I went to school! (Just have to make sure you have all of my disclaimers out there!! ;)

I got to the starting line...those nervous feelings were there...CAUSE the music teacher HAS to be under 6 seconds or it will be COMPLETE embarrassment! I took off running...with my cell phone-keys and wallet still on me...and ran it in 5.4 seconds...not bad for the old guy!

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS HUGE...You should have SEEN the students run after I got the fastest time...they were FLYING down the hallway! A little motivation...can't let the "old teacher" MUCH LESS the music teacher beat you...Well...no one did until the young man who had the 6.7 sec. time went again...only this time...he finished with a 5.2! He was MOTIVATED to do his personal best!

A couple things hit me when this happened...

FIRST...WHY do we wait for others to bring out the best in us? When will we STEP UP and take responsibility for ourselves...for our lives...to be the best we can be...to give our best! Not wait for someone else to motivate us! Because when we start to take responsibility for our lives and work to be our best...THE SKY IS THE LIMIT for what we may accomplish!

SECOND...Are you bringing out the best in others? By the way you are living your life...are you bringing out the best in other people...today I did in a race...but I have been really challenged to make sure that I am doing what I can to pull the VERY BEST out of people...the very best!

You just NEVER KNOW what lessons you might learn when you are just trying to walk the halls...