The Narrow Road

As I sift through the meaning of life, spirituality, success, relationships, leadership, and failure it is brought to my attention that our daily experiences shape our growth or lack of growth. Our approach is influenced by the people that we associate, the environment that we place ourselves, and the attitude that we take on each and everyday. This past week was challenging for me because my kids were on Spring Break, and I had to go back to school. My attitude and approach at the start of the week was not the greatest. It is amazing how one little event, experience, word, or action can influence our approach so easily.

These small influences can make the difference between success and failure; a relationship working or not working; a teaching going well or being chaos; a workout rejuvenating you or pulling you down; a day being good or great; a player making a shot or missing; a student completing their work or not completing their work; etc. It also reminds me that the road we travel can be wide or it can be narrow. I can remember traveling to Maui with Heather on our honeymoon and taking the Road to Hana in our rental car. For those of you not familiar with the Road to Hana- it is a long, narrow, winding road along the shores of Maui. There are beautiful views that are exhilarating and awesome. However, the cliffs and the narrowing of the road to one lane can make you feel anxious and afraid. At the end of the road is a parking area in which you can get out of your car and walk through the forest to an unbelievably high waterfall. It is one of the neatest experiences that I have had in my life. My point in sharing this story is that the road to excitement was narrow and hard. Each day we have that choice. Are you going to take the wide road that makes it easy and comfortable? or Are you going to take the narrow road and challenge yourself? The most memorable things in my life have come from taking the narrow path. There are no shortcuts to the Beautiful Waterfalls, spiritual growth, success, and great friendships. Challenge yourself to do something GREAT!