Nearing the Finish

Christmas time is almost here! This time of year always brings back fond memories of steaming hot chocolate, crackling fireplaces, and my favorite - holiday music. This is also about the time when everything begins to become hectic as final exams and project deadlines sneak up. One thing that is easy to do in anticipation for the holidays is letting the holiday fever set in a little too early. We begin putting our tasks off until the last minute, not working as diligently for upcoming CDE's as we should, or not giving 100% effort in all that we do. We start shutting down before break is even here. I can think of multiple times when I have done exactly this - giving up before the finish.

I remember in Junior High during track practice I would always hear the coach yelling the words “Finish! Finish! Make it all the way to the finish line!” Too many times our coach would catch my teammates and I slowing down right before the end or stopping just inches away. Those few inches felt like miles every time I neared the finish line, so I just choose to quit. At the time I figured that none of it mattered. It was just a few inches right?

When I think back, it would have taken just a few more seconds of hard work to make it to the end. The extra work that I should have put into my running to make it to the finish was minimal, but I chose to give up anyways. It took time for me to realize that those few steps were extremely crucial my success. In any situation if we stop trying before we reach the end we are not reaching our full potential.

If Usain Bolt were to quit just inches before the 
finish line he would have lost his chance at 
winning an Olympic Gold Medal.  

This holiday season don’t let the holiday fever set in early! I know that these last few days before break may seem like years just as those last few steps seemed like miles to me, but this is the perfect time to stay ahead of the game and make those last few inches worthwhile. Stay motivated by rewarding ourselves each time we check something off our to-do list. Hold ourselves accountable by studying with friends or asking our friends to quiz us over information for our next CDE. We could even have them listen to our speeches and the creed. Let’s make it our goal to not quit before the finish line. Then when Christmas Break finally comes we can fill it with hot chocolate, holiday music, and friends and family!  Happy Holidays!