Milestones
2-18-2018
When
you think of the word, milestone, what is the first thought that comes to mind?
A birthday? A special life event such as marriage, your first child, or your
first house?
These
are the typical milestones that the average human strives for.
It
is unprecedented that we strive for more and more everyday and that our goals
and dreams stretch beyond those around us. We want more from life than we are
given; that is a definite fact.
But,
what about those milestones that mean so much to others that don’t involve a
relationship or a $250,000 financial investment?
These
milestones are as small as getting your first research article published that
will impact thousands of others, one of many successful writings in your career;
as small as having a wonderful day at work after 2 weeks of hellish backwater;
as small as making a delicatessen meal for your family after burning the steak
and sauce like every previous attempt, and as small as finishing an educational
preparation lecture/or good book after 2 weeks of putting it off.
Milestones
such as these have incredible meaning because they are simple triumphs leading
up to the completion of greater triumphs.
Small
triumphs make greater triumphs measurable. Having measurable goals and taking
steps little by little will make the greatest successes seem easily achievable
because you cut it up into smaller tasks.
Mind-blowing
that concept, but it’s been proven to work. How exactly? Well a perfect example
is Abraham Lincoln, one of our nation’s most beloved and influential presidents,
who was given the presidency at one of the most crucial moments in American
history, the Civil War.
Abraham
Lincoln was a lawyer from Illinois who tried to preserve the Unity of the
United States and abolish the treachery that was slavery. He was handed a very
daunting task that seemed impossible and, otherwise intimidating.
But,
back to my discussion of milestones, Abraham Lincoln conquered the calamity
that was slavery and the secession that was the Civil War with mini milestones.
He
was an early-riser and a late-night worker. He wrote down ideas on scraps of paper
and saved them until he needed them. He would stay up late read the local newspapers
so he always stayed on top of what was happening. He would argue constantly
with his cabinet and Congress about his goals and desires for the nation which
led to the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st,
1863 to weaken the Rebel south and the passing of the 13th Amendment
to abolish slavery on January 31st, 1865.
Read
that passage again and tell me that man didn’t burn bridges and persevere to
change our country for the better.
Abraham
Lincoln was one of the most influential and well-versed men in our country’s
history. He is my favorite president of all time! He had a wit and dignity that
couldn’t be matched even by today’s standards, in my opinion.
But
back to my discussion, milestones are moments in life where your endurance, agility,
intelligence, and welfare are tested at their limits. It is those moments in
life where what you thought was impossible becomes possible and closer to
touch. It is those moments that make all the sacrifices and tears worth it
because you know you deserve this shot.
We
have all made milestones that we are proud of. We have all made milestones that
have made us cry happy tears because we can’t believe it happened. We all have
those greater successes in our sights, but before you get ahead of yourself,
take a step back, and ask “What mini milestones can I achieve to work up to
that greater success today?”
More
Information about Abraham Lincoln and why I’m so obsessed with his legacy
please check out these links and videos which are also where I received my
information, too:
