don't take your eyes off of your goal

This story is an old one, but it's one worth sharing. At least, I think so. As soon as it happened I remember thinking that I would write a blog about it one day. So here it goes …

I never go to the gas station at night. You can ask anyone who knows me. I barely go at all. I always let my car get to E (which drives my husband crazy) but I won't go at night unless someone is with me. 

Well, one night I did. I was on my way home from hanging out with friends and I was pretty low on gas and I decided to pull in and fill up. As I was at the pump a million thoughts started racing through my head. I immediately regretted my decision as the thoughts started to take over and I began to feel unsafe. I didn't really know the area, there wasn't much light, and I was alone. It felt like forever, but I was finally done at the pump and I started to walk towards my car. I was still focused on what was going on around me and my crazy thoughts that when I opened the door, the corner of it hit me in the head. HARD. 

I almost passed out right there next to my car. But somehow, I managed to fight the overwhelming sensation and get into my car. I immediately started crying. I was crying because it hurt. It hurt very bad and it kept getting worse and when I looked in the mirror there was blood dripping down my face. I started driving. I called my husband sobbing and told him what happened. "Should you be driving?" he asked. Of course the answer was that I probably shouldn't be driving, but I convinced him that it was fine and got off the phone. I continued crying and in the midst of it I felt a sudden calm. Right then and there a thought popped into my mind …

Don't take your eyes off of your goal.

That was it. Thoughts flooded my mind and it started to make sense. My goal was to get to my car. I took my eyes off of my goal by letting my mind worry about all the different things that could happen. As soon as I did that, Wham! 

I thought about how that applied to life. Whenever we are working toward our goals there are always going to be obstacles along the way. As long as we keep our eyes (mind) on the goal we can overcome the obstacles. But, once you change your focus from the goal to the obstacles themselves, that's when we get hurt. That is when we give in to our fears and worries and the goal seems impossible.

I finally made it home. I had a big bump on my head and it hurt pretty bad. But, I had gained perspective. I had learned a valuable lesson … don't go to the gas station at night. :)