Staying Ahead of the Bulls

"If you are heading towards a goal based solely on 'that is the way it has always been done', then you may be heading towards disappointment." - Despair.com

Every year in Pamplona, Spain, the encierro or "running of the bulls" takes place during an eight-day festival around mid-July. It is performed in honour of Saint Fermin in Pamplona, but was born from necessity.

The goal? Get the bulls from outside the city into the bullring.

It starts at a corral in Calle Santo Domingo when the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes eight o'clock in the morning. It is than that the bulls begin their rough and tumble run for 825 metres or just over 1/2 mile. This is the distance between the corral and the bullring.

Usually only taking three to four minutes, it can be a painful run as young men run in front of the bulls. The intent is to show their bravado while trying to avoid being trampled and hurt. A run that means certain death for the bulls eventually in the ring.

Daily, we can feel similar to running in front the bulls.

We are running to get or stay ahead of whatever it is behind us. Our goal seems to be survival until we make it to the bullring where success and glory is found. We only need to ensure we are not trampled along the way as we repeat this gallant run every day.

Today will be the day I reach ring.

Maybe running with the bulls each morning is not the way to go about it. Maybe there is a different, more appropriate way for you to succeed. It could mean that you simply need to try a new way. Running with the bulls might be one way of reaching your goal. Not running with the bulls might be another.

If you keep getting gored in your pursuit each day, try something different and achieve your goals with new thought, new ideas and new desire.

Stay inspired my friends.

Running Dream

Our life is filled with pursuits of dreams or visions of things that we want or want to accomplish. We turn those pursuits into reality when we turn the dream or vision into goals. The goal being something defined and real that we can measure.

We then head out in haste, racing towards achieving the goal. We move fast and then seem to run out of energy or ambition. We find ourselves running at the pace of a 5K race when in fact the race is a marathon. With nearly 42 kilometers to run, we find self-doubt in completing the goal.

It is in those defining moments, here at the building near the crossroads that you can choose to quit. You will leave your tattered dreams tacked to the walls of the room inside along with others long forgotten. Dreams that will always remain dreams.

But in that defining moment you can also decide to step through the door of choice and continue the race. You will make adjustment along the way, adjusting the pace of your pursuit. The building of lost dreams will be left far behind and as you near your goal, that building will have completely disappeared along with its disappointments.
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