I Can't Do That | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: I Can't Do That | Previous Challenge Entry
By John Custer
10/14/20
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Bart, Earl and I thought it would be fun to ride our bicycles across the US. There are actually 3,000 cyclists that do that each year. I, however, was retired and not so confident that I could do it. After petitioning the others to break the trip into thirds, we agreed to ride from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean at Yorktown, Virginia. When compared to crossing the United States that seemed like an attainable goal.

Little did I realize how many hills (and dogs) were in Kentucky and Virginia.

The trip was several months away and the “one third” seemed to loom larger and larger. Doubt seemed to be growing faster than weeds in a flower patch.

My wife and I planned to volunteer in North Carolina. On the way there we would cross the planned bicycle route at Wytheville, Virginia.

When we got to Wytheville, I took my bike off of the car and following my map started down the road, intending to only ride a few miles of the planned trip. My wife rode ahead in the car and stopped occasionally while I caught up. I rode only about 12 miles. An amazing thing happened inside of me on those 12 miles. My confidence soared. I knew that if I could do that short distance, I could do the long distance because it was no more than a group of short distances!

That is exactly how I came to ride one third across the United States.

Think of a challenge that seems overwhelming to you: for instance losing 50 pounds. You may feel that you can’t lose 50 pounds. However, if you set a smaller goal of 5 pounds and achieve it, it will give you the confidence that you can do that nine more times. I can assure you that losing the 5 pounds will really excite you and be a motivation for losing the entire 50!

There are many overwhelming goals that are attainable when broken down into smaller units.

Perhaps some reading this have had a hip or knee replacement. To walk any distance was a big challenge, but the nurse helped you to do a shorter distance and you gradually extended it. Soon you were doing what you never thought possible!

One of the spiritual disciplines is tithing, giving 10% of your total income to God. Tithing began with me after I got my first paper route. I took 10% of my income after expenses and put it in a little wooden barrel. On Sunday I would take the contents to church and place it in the offering. It was so easy!

However, not everyone was raised the way that I was raised. Some people accept Christ as an adult and they have house payments, car payments and many other payments. To start tithing is very difficult. If they were to start with a smaller amount and gradually increase, asking God to help them, they would be surprised how quickly they would attain their goal, and even exceed it.

Did you ever take a 1000-piece puzzle and dump it on the table and felt that it was impossible to put it together? What happened when you got the edge done, or you got all the reds done? Soon you realized that the entire puzzle was possible.

I’ve given you several examples of how taking a big challenge and breaking it down into smaller chunks enables you to achieve your goal.

So what would you like to do that seems overwhelming?

Break it into smaller units, then do it. I wish I could be there to cheer you on, because I know that you can do it.

Before I took my bike wheel out of the ocean water, I was on the phone calling my friends to tell them that I had gone the distance. You will too! Go for it!

Non-fiction

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