Stretch Quote – Finish Strong (@RobinSharma)

Starting strong is good.  Finishing strong is epic.

Robin Sharma

The past few weeks, I have been running hard.  I’m not ready to give up, but I can feel fatigue tempting me to ease up on my effort.

This is the same feeling I had while running each of my three marathons.  A marathon is 26.2 miles long.  Around 20 miles into the race, it’s common for runners to hit the wall.

In life it can be the same way.  Life is a marathon, and we start with the best of intentions, but we too often lose focus and energy before we reach the finish line.

Today, I want to remind you to finish strong.  How you finish will build character in your life and will determine your legacy.

As we enter the final lap of 2015, I encourage you to keep going.  Run through the finishing line.  Finish strong!

What keeps you pressing on when you feel like giving up?

For more encouragement to finish strong, check out my book:  On Track – Life Lessons from the Track & Field.  There’s an entire chapter dedicated to finishing strong.

Stretch Quote – Greater Capacity (@BidemiMarkMordi)

The human spirit is like an elastic band. The more you STRETCH, the greater your capacity.

Bidemi Mark-Mordi

The other day, I discovered an old rubber band behind on the floor near the wall in my office.  The rubber band had been there for a while.  It hadn’t been stretched for a while, and it was actually brittle.  I grabbed two sides of the rubber band, and I pulled my hands away from each other.  The rubber band stretched a little, but it didn’t last.  Within seconds, the rubber band snapped.  It broke.  Instead of a continuous circle of rubber, it turned into a curvy line of rubber.  It was no longer useful, so I threw it in my trash can.

If you don’t use a rubber band, it becomes useless.

Stretching is important for our lives.  We must keep stretching ourselves to maintain our usefulness and to help us grow to new limits.

How are you intentionally stretching yourself?

The Number One Way To Do What God Says

We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.
John R.W. Stott

I want to do the right thing.  Don’t you?

I spend my “free time” in the car or on the treadmill listening to podcasts, so I can learn more.  On my nightstand, I have a few leadership books.  I listen to 150 podcasts every week, and I read through (or skim through) over 330 blogs whenever there is a new post.

I stand by the saying “Leaders are readers.”

But I think I sometimes take it too far.

When I say I want to do the right thing, I mean this:

• I want to be a great husband.
• I want to be a great father.
• I want to be a great employee.
• I want to be a great boss.
• I want to be a great leader.
• I want to be a great friend.
• I want to be a great teammate.
• I want to be a great giver.
• I want to be a great person.

I don’t want to mess up when it comes to these areas of my life (and other areas).  I’m a perfectionist.  Unfortunately, I get it wrong if these are my pursuits.

I want to be a great Christ-follower.  If I can get this right, the other things should take care of themselves.  If I’m serious about this proclamation – if I’m serious about wanting to be a great Christ-follower, I should do what God says.

What is the number one way to do what God says?

If you want to do what God says, you have to know what God says.

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”  James 1:25

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?  By living according to your word.  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:9-11

If I want to follow Christ, I have to start by digesting God’s Word.  Spending time in God’s Word does not happen with a closed, dust-covered Bible on the coffee table.  It happens when I open it up, when I study it, and when I take time to chew on it.  Only then can I truly do what God says.

If you want to do the right thing, start with God’s Word.

When was the last time you spent time studying God’s Word?  How do you make the most of time reading The Bible?  What has God recently been teaching you through His Word?

Stretch Quote – Keep Climbing (@IsraelmoreA)

If you really want to eat, keep climbing. The fruits are on the top of the tree. STRETCH your hands and keep STRETCHING them. Success is on the top, keep going.
Israelmore Ayivor

Where are you on the journey to reaching your goals?

Are you half way there?  Are you a quarter way there?  Are you almost there?

Don’t give up!

Keep climbing.  Keep stretching.  Keep going after your goal.

Stretch Quote – Time to STRETCH (@DeanKarnazes)

Personally, I don’t STRETCH, I don’t get massages.  Maybe massages would be useful, but I just don’t have the time for it.

Dean Karnazes

You spend time on the things that matter the most to you.

Do you know your priorities?

I’m guessing you are here in part, because you want to stretch yourself.  I’ve said before “You’re not really living if you aren’t stretching and growing.”  If you really want to stretch, you have to make time for it.

Dean Karnazes is an ultra-marathon runner who defies the normal boundaries of human limitations.  He ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.  You and I are not Dean Karnazes.  We need to stretch.  We need to take time to grow, to work on our flexibility, and to push the boundaries of our comfort zone.

How will you take time to stretch this week?

Stretch Quote – Up For The Challenge (@Christine_Lahti)

I like to take up something that is challenging. I like to STRETCH myself.

Are you up for the challenge?  What are you doing to stretch yourself these days?

How I Maintain A Positive Attitude (When Negativity Surrounds Me)

Is the glass half empty?  Or is it half full?

I work in the construction industry in the Philadelphia area.  The industry is known to be fairly rough.  The language and conversation content is often very “colorful.”  And sometimes it seems like people only know how to communicate with each other by yelling and screaming.  Philadelphia has a reputation for being somewhat negative.  If you don’t believe me, it was Philly fans who threw snowballs at Santa Clause.  And if you are still not convinced, try listening to Philly sports radio for an hour.  You would think the everyone does everything wrong, and there is no hope for positive change.  So much for being the City of Brotherly Love.

Despite these circumstances, I am known in my office for having a positive attitude (most of the time).  In fact, I have repeatedly been asked the following question:  “How do you stay so positive all the time?”

Some people seem to be naturally disposed to having a positive attitude, but I think there may be a bit more to it.  Today, I’m giving you practical ways for you to develop and maintain a positive attitude even when negativity seems to surround you.  Here’s how I stay so positive all the time:

7 Ways To Develop And Maintain A Positive Attitude

1. Recognize the positive side of having a positive attitude.  A positive attitude sees hope even in challenging circumstances (negativity only sees despair).  A positive attitude saves energy (negativity wastes energy).  A positive attitude is positively contagious (negativity spreads like cancer).  A positive attitude paves the way for future opportunity.
2. Decide to pursue a positive attitude.  You have a choice to make every morning when you wake up.  Do you really want to have a positive attitude?  If so, you have to be intentional.  You have to pursue a positive attitude.
3. Practice being positive.  In a recent blog post, Seth Godin talked about attitude.  He said attitude is a skill.  In order to improve our skills, we have to practice.  This is the same for our attitudes.  If we want to have a positive attitude, we have to practice having a positive attitude.  This may not always seem easy at first – especially when life throws us lemons.  We must practice turning lemons into lemonade.  The more we practice having a positive attitude, the more it will become a natural part of who we are and how we interact with others.
4. Remove negative influences.  Negativity will drag you down.  It is important to stay informed, but we need to be careful with the “news” we ingest.  News media generally capitalizes on sensationalizing the negative.  There are a lot of “bad things” happening in the world every day, but there are a lot of “good things” that happen as well.  From a friend standpoint, learn to get rid of friends who are always negative.  They drag you down.  In today’s social media driven world, you may have to unfollow people who are always bring the negative to their Facebook or Twitter pages.  Turn the television off (or turn the channel) to avoid shows that negatively represent marriages, families, friendships, and work relationships.  When you come across something negative in your life, determine if it really needs to stay in your life.  If not, remove it!
5. Surround yourself with positive influences.  Read blogs and books that are uplifting.  Listen to podcasts that come from a positive perspective.  Watch television shows and movies that reinforce the positives.  Intentionally seek out relationships with people who will influence you positively.
6. Remember the positive.  Forget the negative.  Write down the positive things you encounter on a daily basis.  Use a journal to help you remember the positives.  The more you do this, the easier it will be to maintain a positive attitude.
7. Become a “positive attitude” evangelist.  Develop a positive vocabulary.  Use words like:  fabulous, terrific, fantastic, and magnificent.  Your words are contagious.  By using a positive vocabulary, others will begin to reconsider their vocabulary and their attitude.  Smile.  Smiles are also contagious, and they promote a positive attitude.  (Learn to smile more by reading this great post by Matt McWilliams.)  Write thank you notes.  Gratitude is one of the easiest ways to promote positive attitudes.  Help others see the positive in the challenges they face.  Mentor others, and teach them to develop and maintain a positive attitude.

What steps have you taken to develop and maintain a positive attitude?  What changes do you need to make to become more positive?

Stretch Quote – Stretching Enough (Raymond Kelly)

Last week, I changed up my morning workout routine.  Instead of doing my cardio first (like running and biking, I am now lifting before I jump into the cardio portion of my workout.  As a result of this change, my muscles were a little sore for a few days.

Actually, if I had to guess, I’m also sore, because I didn’t stretch enough last week.  I knew I should have done it more, but I just didn’t have the “time.”

Seems like a pretty lame excuse.  Doesn’t it?

We will make time for what is important to us.  If you really want to stretch more, you have to make time.

What is your excuse for failing to stretch more?  Why aren’t you making more time to stretch yourself?

Stretch Quote – Stretch The Envelope (@MerleDandridge)

Stretch Quote – Delegation (@HarveyMackay)