First story.
One of my initial inspirations for running marathons came from a book.
In the book, the author described how he ran 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days across all the 50 states of America.
In this book and other similar books and podcasts that I began to consume, I heard stories of 100 and 200 mile races in all type of weather and terrain. Runners would ascend mountains, traverse the deserts in 130-degree temps and even race cross the South Pole.
Yes, all of this is insane. But they are true. No, I’m not planning or dreaming of attempting such feats, but if these stories are the extremes, how do I define normal?
To some people, the idea of running for over 4 hours and pounding the ground to cover 26.2 miles is extreme. Maybe a bucket list dream. And thus, their normal in the realm of possibility is much different.
Next story.
I have a friend named “E”.
E seems to be a normal guy. He’s married, has four children, has a few side jobs and is also a full time pastor. Because of all of responsibilities he is unable to pray and study his Bible as much as he would like. Like many of us with families, E doesn’t have the time or capacity that he had when he was single.
Because of these limitations, his prayer/study time is reduced to 3am to 12pm.
Yes, I’m serious.
Every day, this is his schedule. 8 hours in prayer, devotion and study. And this is a full four hours shorter than his ritual when he was single. (Note, his wife home schools the kids. So he does bring in all the money for his family. He vehicles are paid off, his first home is paid off and is rented out, and his current 5,000 sq ft. that he built has a mortgage of only 25% of its total value.
This guy inspires me.
I may never arrive at his level of time and life management nor spiritual dedication, but it does affect what I call normal or possible.
Conclusion.
How do you define normal? What do you think is possible?
I don’t aspire perfection, nor do I try to be like my ‘heroes’. I want live out my own life with my own abilities and values. But I do think normal and possible are relative terms.
If we are looking at the middle of pack and comparing ourselves to “average”, we will very likely live relative to an average view of possibility.
Have you heard the phrase: “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”? The people you spend time with and/or what you see and read and assume to be possible will become your reality.
I love this quote, from my client and friend Tracy Spears: ”are you living out of the probabilities or the possibilities?
You have the choice to define for yourself, what’s possible and what’s normal. Today, I encourage you to dream big and choose wisely.