“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

This 31-day challenge has been a wonderful experience and I don’t want it to end.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I do want to spend myself in worthy causes occasionally experiencing high achievement but always daring greatly.

Things I’ve learned in 31 days.

• A lot can be accomplished in 30 days.
• Slow and steady wins the race.
• You don’t have to wait for things to be perfect to change.  Do it today.
• Discipline is a daily, if not hourly, exercise.
• Find someone you trust to share your ideas/dreams/struggles.
• Habits really can be formed in a short amount of time.
• I really enjoy writing.
• It’s important to share your struggles as well as your triumphs.
• I used to be so focused on ‘finishing’.  Now I’m really jazzed by ‘progress’.
• I am so thankful for my life and everyone in it.

Thank you for all the kind comments, encouragement and laughs.  This experience exceeded my expectations.

And now I need to go walk Woody and Ellie and dream about tomorrow’s post.

Have an enjoyable Halloween evening, 

“I know you just practicing your make-shift muzzle on Ellie, but I think you were really trying to dress her up as a mummy for Halloween.  You do know that won’t work with me, right?”