Have you ever set your focus towards an extreme, (almost) unreachable goal?

It could be a degree or series of degrees you wish to earn, or a career goal that seems most unlikely, or a performance in sports or the arts that would be life-transformative.

It really applies to anything you have that deep, profound inner passion to grow and attain through the most intense preparation.

What if I told you that the glory is all in the preparation? You would reply with an obvious rebuttal that the Olympic athlete is not a gold medal winner until they run the race…. And you would be most accurate. And truly, the performance is the summit and pinnacle of the experience without doubt.

But it is not the glory.

Achieving a miraculous goal is exhilarating beyond words. The overwhelming sense of joy and appreciation at that moment are incomparable. The release of the stress of “will all of this hard work pay off?” is answered in that triumphant moment. The adulation, appreciation, respect and other benefits that come from achieving it are all triggered by the outcome.

And yet, that is not the glory.

In my humble opinion, shared after hitting such moments in my life thus far, is that those moments are short fragments of your life. They are quintessential highlights, to be certain. Moments to remember for the rest of your life, no doubt. But they are short-lived and they are over before you can blink. And then what? 

The after moments are like the remnants of the most beautiful sunset. They remain for a short period and before long, blackness.  Many of the overachievers in life will tell you that when that moment of blackness hits, there is a sadness that is incomparable. That fire in the belly that drove you to such heights of exaltation has been replace with the contentment of having done it. And suddenly, everything feels hollow and vacant again.

Until, you set the next goal.

Glory, true glory, is found in the gap from setting the goal, to achieving it. When your goal is filled with your internal love and inspiration, as Ella shared, the road to achieving it is the glorious period…. The trouble is that most of us do not see it while it is happening, and we are too pigheaded to see the forest for the trees. 

Every setback along the way is a moment that is sparking glory, you just don’t see it. At the moment, you are consumed with your goal. Nothing. I repeat, Nothing…. Is going to stop you. So that setback is a frustration, disappointment, or irritation, but it is nothing more than a stimuli to propel you to greater glory.  Rumi said it best (as is often the case) “If you are irritated by every rub, how will you ever be polished?”

The setbacks are emotionally devastating, scary, debilitating and cause unparalleled anxiety, to be certain. But each and every one of those setbacks are the moments that trigger glory. Because in each setback comes the opportunity for you to prove to yourself (again) that you are worthy of that pinnacle moment ahead. That you are honed in fire, tried and true, worthy of achieving what you set out to do.

So the next time you are overwhelmed by the massive signs of failure that are staring you in the face… remember, these are the glory moments. Not fun, not enjoyable, even excruciating at times… but these are the moments that craft greatness. These are the moments where we learn what we are truly made of. And learning those things about oneself… is truly glorious.

Happy Thursday!