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Everyone Loves a Dramatic Finish.
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Everyone loves a dramatic finish. As a cross-country runner I
provided many awe-inspiring sprints to the finish line to the delight
of the thundering crowd. Fortunately, these dramatic dashes kept
me out of last place, but not by much.
Near the end of my illustrious career as a half-crazed cross-country
fanatic, I finally placed. It was a half-mile race in Jenks, OK.
For this race I tried something new, I began the race with a sprint.
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I can't tell you if there was a girl in the stands that
I was trying to impress, or whether I just had ants in my
pants. For the first lap I was in first, and it felt good.
After the first lap, it stopped feeling good. I dropped
from 1st to 2nd, and eventually all the way to 7th. Ironically,
this dismal finish left me with my best finish ever.
I know many people who are hesitant to get deeply involved
with anything (be it relationships, work, or God) for fear
that they will bum out, get hurt, or be taken advantage of.
Instead they run the race at half speed always reserving energy
for the finish. Even still they never fully commit and give
it there all.
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I call it the "Presto-magic" approach. Why? Because
I am very fond of "Presto Magic." You may remember this
invention, the bane of any important document mom or dad left around
the house. These "Presto Magic" images could be transferred
magically by simply writing on top of them. Presto! You now have
the magical appearance of an image that was not there before onto
a previously boring lawyer type document, or credit card bill.
Unfortunately, life doesn't work like Presto-Magic. For every
dramatic success, there is a tremendous back-story of sweat and
tears, of rejection, bum-out and of being used. Successful people
don't get rich instantly, and if they do, it will be gone just as
fast. Nor do they become a success overnight. Winning the race,
takes a strong effort every step of the way.
For those who like a thesis to peg my stories onto, it would be
this: Don't count on a strong finish to vindicate your life.
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