Most of the journeys we take aren’t short. They aren’t something we can do in one day, especially the more meaningful ones, the ones that we can’t complete in a short time.

For me, my journeys– which are what I would usually think of as attempting to achieve some sort of goal– often take a longer time, definitely much longer than I would like them to.

And yet there are other things I do in my daily life that are journeys in a sense– like going out to run in the morning or going for a swim in the afternoon. Journeys within journeys.

When I go out for a run, I know that I can make it easy and just sort of lallygag along without much effort. But, unless I’m exhausted from something else, I would much prefer to make that mileage count, to physically and mentally feel like I’ve pushed myself.

The other morning I really didn’t want to push myself. I wanted to be lazy. I tried to remind myself that if I slowed down, I wouldn’t be happy when I finished. While that wouldn’t set my tone for the day, I did want to feel some sense of accomplishment as I started on the other tasks my day would entail.

If that reminder doesn’t work, I find myself having to break the run into smaller segments, shorter distances. Make it from here to the street sign or the light pole.

Life journeys can be the same. While we are excited to embark on a big journey, at some point we might feel a bit worn down and wondering if it’s worth it. It’s hard to keep focused when something looks to be so far away.

That’s when we should break it down into shorter segments- like I sometimes do for my run. We don’t need to be overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and think of something shorter, something that will rejuvenate you with a sense of accomplishment as you look up and remember the big picture in front of you. But with excited eyes again.