What it Takes

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.  –Patricia Neal

For years my daughter skied, and loved it. Then she began to race and loved it even more.

On training days Ellie would fall, get up, and do it all over again. Her hair would poke stiffly from her helmet as icicles formed. While other kids complained of bitter cold and white-out conditions, she’d persevere. Ellie didn’t win much, but she’d give it her best and smile while doing it.

Over the last year or two, Ellie’s determination, mental attitude, and hard work began to change her skiing. Watching my daughter has inspired me. Hard work is hard. People talk a lot about it. But doing it is something else entirely.

Speeding down a mountain with nothing but a helmet to protect her, makes Ellie’s work not only hard, but dangerous. Depending on the day she must endure wicked temperatures, blazing sun, or heavy snow. She sacrifices things other 12-year-olds take for granted. If she’s not at school, she’s on the hill. Exhausted, she gets up at the crack of dawn to do it all again. That’s the kind of passion and perseverance to make miracles happen.

Just last week Ellie qualified for the Junior Olympics.

Hearts

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens. –Carl Jung

Looking into your heart seems easy enough. Family’s there. Your friends. A Xchotal chocolate bar. But searching deeper takes looking beyond the cocoa bean.

Besides a cup of French roast, what really wakes you up? What makes you tick? Society gives us plenty of mixed signals about what we’re supposed to want. Love and peace? A nice car? Skinny jeans? It gets confusing.

But if we take the time to reflect, we know the deepest part of our soul seeks something special. The trick is figuring out what it is. To find purpose, Jung reminds us to look inside for the answer. Our hearts can lead us. Give yourself a valentine and look. Plus, it has less calories than chocolate.