a friend wrote this

Begin with the end in mind

I've heard this tid bit of wisdom from many places, but only figured it out this morning.

Picture yourself running a marathon, and you're running out of steam. You know you have to finish the race but you don't know where you'll get the energy to do it, your body is screaming in pain and fatigue... your arms are stiff as branches, your legs are like noodles trying to pick up the lead weights that have become your feet, your vision is cloudy with sweat, and your head feels like the ashphalt that your feet are pounding, and then you turn a corner and you see the finish line...

Suddenly you have a burst of energy from absolutely nowehere that electrifies your every cell, your heart beats faster than it ever has, you suddenly become light as air as you chase after that finish line, KNOWING what's on the other side. Victory. It doesn't matter what position you came in the race, all that matters is that you finish it.

So, imagine now how much pain you would have been spared if you had a good mental picture of that finish line, so much so that you could taste it, breathe it, hear it, FEEL it with your entire being... How much easier would life be if you had that? You'd be sprinting the whole way.... and not feeling a bit of pain.