The Heroic Minute Challenge: Day 14: 7 Lessons Learned from the Heroic Minute

I would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in the 14 Day “Heroic Minute” Challenge. Honestly, I really had no clue how things would go when the challenge began. I just knew that I personally needed to work on incorporating some self-discipline and order into my daily life. I have always loved St. Josemarie Escriva and his concept of the Heroic Minute and so the challenge was born.Here are 7 of the many lessons which I have learned from the challenge.-1-The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Mt 26:41) It is no surprise to me that Jesus said this to the Apostles who had fallen asleep while he was in agony praying in the garden. Overcoming my fleshly desire for 10 more minutes of sleep every morning is no small feat. At some points during the past 14 days I thought that climbing Mount Everest might be easier than forgoing my snooze button for one more day. -2-We need to be realistic in our goals. It is no secret to my family and friends that I am an ambitious person. My first grade teacher remarked on my report card that I was a “keen competitor”! The object of my competition is, most often, myself. At the start of this challenge, my personal goals went far beyond the scope of St. Escriva’s initial exhortation – I looked down the road and saw myself up at 5AM, praying for 30 minutes, exercising, doing laundry and more. Did any of those things happen?  Not exactly. My goals were completely unrealistic. Through the challenge I have learned the wisdom of setting one goal at a time and to ensure that it is an attainable one – this does not mean that reaching the goal won’t be challenging, only that it is realistic. Which