I spent my day at a horseshow with my daughter and my wife. Everyone who was there agreed that the show should have been cancelled because of the heat. Temperatures were 95 degrees in the afternoon and if it wasn't for the breeze that we were fortunate enough to have, it would have been completely unbearable for spectators, riders, and the horses.



I spent much of the day looking for shade under the trees on this farm. I even took some time to catch a nap on the cool grass under one of the tall oak trees on the property. Upon my waking from my little snooze I went to view the competition in the riding arena. I was treated to a demonstration of will by all of the riders present and it further demonstrated that our goals are achievable if we stick to the plan.

The goal was for every one of the riders to make it through a very tough day of above all normal summer temperatures and still do their best in the riding arena. Some were happy with their results and some may have wanted to do better, but all got on their horses and gave it their best even through the sweltering heat. The reward of riding in the show was far more important to these people than having to put up with the discomfort of putting up with the heat.

Many times we find that the goals that we set are often sprinkled with challenges and unforeseen difficulties. While going through the difficulties we may wonder why they have to happen to us, yet after the difficulty has passed, we often find that the difficulty actually added to the experience and gave us a better mix of stories to tell.

Difficulties and challenges almost always help us grow and appreciate the achievement of the goal more than if we would have been able to achieve the goal without some type of challenge or discomfort. It's when things become difficult that it's important for us to remember what the goal is and how important it really is for us to achieve it. It's at that time that we need to put our nose to the grindstone and our best foot and face forward to be sure that we can finish what we had set out to do.

Make the plan, work the plan,

Fred Nicklaus