It is very easy to give up. Things aren't working out the way you think they should be, and you feel like everything is falling apart, so what do you do? Do say "that's it" and give up? Or do you go the extra mile, and strive to become a better person? When I was very little, my parents trained me to always go the extra mile. This concept seemed like a wast of time to me, but I did it anyway because if I didn't, I would get in trouble! Eventually I got passed the stage of only doing extra work because I was told to, and started doing just out of habit. I learned that many good things happened when I worked harder than I wanted to originally.
The concept of "running the extra mile" has always been in my head, but this fall, I realized that it had been pushed to the back burner, as some might say. I noticed myself slacking off more, and not even doing everything that was required, or expected of me. I was putting my time and energy into trying to fit in, and be a "cool kid in high school" rather than focusing on improving my athletic ability to play sports, and focusing on my school work. Running the extra mile isn't to stop working on something so you can work harder on something else. Going the extra mile is continually working on improving yourself and helping others, but never slowing down on something important to you. This is something that I resized when I got my report card at our first quarter meetings. At that point I knew that I hadn't been going the extra mile in every thing that I was doing. The whole point of going the extra mile, is not to be selective in what you work hard in. A wise man once said "How you do one thing, is how you do everything" Therefore you can't only work hard in one field. If you think you're working hard in one aspect, but are lacking work in another, you aren't really working to your full potential.I challenge each of you to reflect on yourself, and see in what aspects of your life, are you lacking something. When you find that, act on it!
