Metaphors

Maintenance

A story about Mike

by #Realestatemogul

Storytime!!!!

Mike lived in a far away country. He grew up in a small town in northern Sweden, where most of the year the ground was full of snow and the sun didn't shine. Every year the kids would be busy playing in the snow or trekking along on a pair of skis. Mike, however, was different.

See, ever since he watched the summer Olympics as a young 6 year old and watched a couple of races and marathon he had a burning passion to run. Now you can imagine what it is like to become a runner in a country that prides itself in bobsledding and cross country skiing. Needless to say, Mike wasn't exactly in the best position to follow his dreams.

The thing was that no matter how many people tried telling him he was crazy and he would never be an Olympic runner, he just kept on going. It wasn't always easy. In matter of fact, for most of his young life he just kept failing. He would try to enter local races and he would not even qualify as a participant due to his poor race times. He would often wonder why he thought he could do it, maybe everyone was right, maybe a Swedish man would never be the world's greatest runner. But year after year he kept pursuing his dream of being an Olympic runner....

Then, through his perseverance and dedication, he started to see real meaningful results. Mike started qualifying for races and actually making a name for himself among the running community. People would see him around races and smile at him, something that hadn't happened in years. Then as the months and years went by, he actually found himself placing in the top 3 race after race. Mike started to get a renewed strength and passion from all his success. He starting really believing he would realize his dreams of being the best in the world....

Then the day came. Many years had passed and he was finally on the stage he had dreamed about since being a little kid, the Olympic games. At that point he was actually the favorite to win a medal and many people thought he would take the Gold. The first two qualifying rounds were against people he had already beaten several times and he easily walked away in first place.

He was now down to the last round before the championship race. As long as he finished in one of the top four places he would go on to the final championship race, the moment he had spent his whole life to be at. He wanted that Gold medal more than anything else in the world.

The race got off to a pretty good start and he took an early position in fourth. This would keep him enough ahead of the pack but still save energy for the last couple of laps. He knew his opponents well and had seen them take early leads only to lose energy and be outrun towards the end of the race. That's exactly what happened and as they were about halfway through the race Mike started to pull ahead. First he took the third position, then he inched over to second and maintained his strong lead. With about three laps to go he finally gave it all he got. Mike pulled away from the pack of runners and into first place. He had been down this road so many times and settled into a significant lead. Mike was about to go on to the final race and compete for a chance at a gold medal...

Then....against everything he had worked on these past few years, his legs gave way and he fell....One second he was on his way to a final and next second he is on the ground. Mike wasn't injured at all, but in his rush to make it to the finish line he let go of his training and lost focus. At those speeds and after such a long run, a very slight misstep can knock you off balance and send you to the ground. That's where Mike found himself...on the ground and not in the position he expected. Not after all the years of work and fighting to be where he was....

Mike wasn't about to give up. He quickly picked himself up and tried to get back in the race. So far only two other racers had pulled ahead and he still had a shot at the final, and ultimately the gold medal. He was a bit shaken from his fall but he tried with every bit of strength to maintain his speed and focus on that finish line. In his peripheral vision he could see the rest of the pack of runners closing in on him. As they neared the finish line, he gave it all he had. One other runner came ahead of him but he managed to finish in fourth place. Enough to qualify for the Gold medal. He still had his chance to fulfil his dreams....if his fall doesn't get in his way...

Mike had become one of the world's best runners. He was on a stage most people never even bother dreaming about, let alone actually reach. But, the thought of failure of not getting first place on this second to final race was hard to swallow. It was hard to watch the media coverage of his fall. Most importantly his coach was worried that this might overtake him and prevent him from performing his best in the gold medal race...

This is Mikes story.

This is also many people on GYE story as well. Tonight it is my story....

All my life I wanted to reach the level of getting past these issues. I so badly wanted overcome my addiction or strong lust if you prefer. To stop watching things that made me depressed or to act out and not feel nay better from it.

B"H! I made it to 272 whopping and amazing days!!! Days filled with kedusha and growth!!!

Then last night I fell. Not nearly as bad as what my old falls where, but a fall nonetheless. I lost my streak. I would have to come onto my forum page and tell everyone that I failed. I couldn't maintain this forever. Quite embarrassing no?

I think though everyone who read Mike's story would be thinking something different. Mike's story is merely to illustrate how the minor fall is just a trap to hold us back from getting the Gold medal. Mike may have fallen and finished fourth but he is very much still the favorite to win the Gold.

This is what I will do. Pick myself back up and go for the Gold! I was also born in a far away country. I was born in a generation that shmiras aynayim isn't the favorite sport of the day. People laugh at us when they see us hiding from things that "seem" so normal to them. But when we pick ourselves up and work on ourselves, after all our hard work we will find a Gold medal around our neck and have a special place up in shamayim. Because although we may have fallen a few times, in the final race that matters most we came in first!

#Day 272 + Day 1

Thank you everyone for your support! You are the coach in the story and you are crucial in running this race!