I DIDN'T QUIT RUNNING

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As a middle schooler, my mother wouldn’t let me play tackle football. I figured I’d be able to talk her out of it prior to entering high school.

I guess I overestimated my lawyering skills.

About a week before the start of my freshman year, she told me that she’d been talking with the cross-country coach. Mr. Peacock would be willing to let me join the team despite missing the summer workouts.

I was a basketball player and I associated running with punishment.

Reluctantly, I decided to join the team since it might help me get in better shape for basketball.

That first year was embarrassing. I was terrible. I lost track of how many girls beat me when we had co-ed meets.

Other than the normal problems of a pimple appearing on my face right before school, getting beat by a girl was about as embarrassing as it got for a teenage boy.

Anyway, a decision had to be made that off-season…quit, or take it seriously.

That summer, I became committed, running hundreds of miles, entering road races every weekend, and taking an active leadership role on the cross-country team. I went from being one of the worst runners on the team to qualifying for the state finals as a Sophomore.

I’m glad that I stuck with the sport even though it was difficult and embarrassing at times. I joke about getting beat by girls, but my real motivation was?I wanted to be the best I was capable of being.

I never dreamed of winning races or awards. I just knew I wasn’t living up to my potential and that bugged me. Even though it would take hard work and sacrifice, I would rather go through that than have a lifetime of knowing I quit on something just because it was difficult.

Aristotle used to say,?“We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act but rather a habit.”

We all have habits in life. These habits are developed as a result of our daily choices.

The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi used to say,?“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”

We’ll either make quitting our habit or we’ll make perseverance our habit.

Jamy Bechler?is the author of five books including?The Captain?and?The Bus Trip, host of the?Success is a Choice Podcast, professional speaker, and trains organizations on creating championship cultures. He previously spent 20 years as a college basketball coach and administrator.?The Leadership Playbook?is Bechler’s online program that helps athletes become better teammates and more positive leaders while strengthening a team’s culture. As a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, Bechler has worked with businesses and teams, including the NBA. Follow him on Twitter at?@CoachBechler. To connect with him via email or find out about his services, please contact?[email protected]. You can also subscribe to his insights on success and leadership by?clicking here.