How Bad Do You Want It?

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you couldn't stop thinking about it?   I'm talkin' no matter what obstacle came your way you just KNEW you would do whatever it took to make it happen? On Saturday morning, as we were getting packed up and ready to leave the lake, and after Nina escaped for the umpteenth time, I decided I had to bump today's original blog topic until tomorrow to cover the topic of Victory is the only option.  I'm not talking about just if it happens, great.... or as long as it's convenient... or as long as I don't have to do anything scary.  I'm talking about Even if it means expanding my comfort zone & getting uncomfortable!  


We were at the lake for 2 weeks and about 4 or 5 days ago our dog, Nina, discovered gophers.  She and her buddy Roxy (my mother-in-law's dachshund puppy) found several gopher holes that they would dig up and then they would just sit and wait.  Now up until 5 days ago, Nina was perfectly happy chasing minnows along the shoreline and retrieving any ball you would throw into the water.  She was off leash and would remain within about 20 feet of the shoreline just waiting for any of the 30 or so people to throw the ball.  She didn't try to venture off anywhere else for fear of missing just one throw... until the gophers.

Nina & Roxy

I love that she wants to chase down and scare off the gophers, the problem is the gophers were on the front side of the house where no one was watching her....where there were cars...where there were any number of neighbors or kids that she could be bothering...therefore it really wasn't ok.  However, Nina would never accept no for an answer because she wanted it that badly.  With each day we would discover yet another door in the house that she had figured out how to open!  There was the front door that, every once in a while, would get left unlatched...the door to the garage would also not always latch if you didn't intentionally shut it... there are 2 screen doors on the porch... there's a door that leads to the lake from the basement.  As I count it now in my head, there are actually 6 possible doors that she could use and although we would block them most of the time she would always find that exception. 

When you want something badly enough, you are willing to accept that your window of opportunity may not be open all the time, but as soon as it is, you are prepared to take it.

So, we'd be going about doing whatever we were all doing until someone would say... wait.  Where's Nina?  That dog is so quiet and sneaky...she knew that her decision wouldn't be popular so she didn't share her intentions with those who wouldn't align with her goal -- that's funny right?

Stop sharing your dream with the people who just constantly shoot you down!  Seek out those who are aligned with your dreams! 

What about the consequences?  I know that Nina could hear us yelling for her and even when she could see us out there she would just ignore us.  Our dog is very smart and I swear she looks at who is yelling...weighs the consequences... and then decides just how quickly she'll return.  It's like she's thinking...I may get a time out or a little swat but it will totally be worth it!

You may have to give up watching TV, spending extra time with your family, or maybe a little bit of free time TEMPORARILY, but the question to ask yourself is...will my victory be worth it?  It's not the big decisions that keep us from our dreams, it's the small, every day decisions that add up and keep us from victory. 

I wish I had a picture of Nina when she would finally get brought back into the house.  Every time, she would be covered in dirt from her nose to her collar - that's how deep her head would be in those gopher holes!  She would walk into that house with no remorse, just that inside smile knowing that she was victorious and she couldn't wait until that next window of opportunity opened...