Acknowledging weakness to come back stronger

Published on 12 April 2025 at 09:27

Accountability

This morning I carried on with my small patterns of behavior leading me to be a better man. I made my bed, but was thrown off somehow and got downstairs before realizing I missed my trigger to pray and knelt down where I was and offered up my petition to Greatness. For my morning workout I had pull-ups to do with cycling sprints and back extensions between (superman style on the floor, no apparatus). I had a goal to do 10 pull-ups each round whether I could do them all in a row or required breaks. My first round was ten pull-ups followed by a 20 second bike sprint peaking around 29 MPH on my stationary bike. Next round was 8 pull-ups, followed by another 1.5, leaving me with still another to do that was accomplished with a little more rest. My next round of cycling sprint was also 20 seconds peaking around 31 MPH. Each round I completed 20 back extensions. I did a final round of pull-ups with 6 reps followed by 4 and moved on to some body rowing, bicep curls, and 5-mile cycle that took about 20 minutes.

Ponderings

While on my 5-mile ride I listened to scripture and was in 2 Nephi hearing the psalm of Nephi

I'm fascinated every time, as it gives a glimpse of Nephi's humility in recognizing his weakness even though he has clearly been a faithful servant of the Lord. I believe this is powerful for many reasons, not the least of which is the power of not getting caught up in pride and thinking we have put ourselves in a position that we can't fall. By continually recognizing our short-comings, even the little ones, and working to root them out we set ourselves up for continued improvement which we need if we want to progress to meet the potential we've been told we can attain through Christ.

 

Be strong!

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Comments

Emerson Blackmore
5 days ago

O wretched man that I am, I have thought on that chapter as well. I wonder if he had a battle with depression. Certainly if anyone was entitled it would be him. I’ve often had similar thoughts but I suspect I was more deserving of those thoughts than Nephi. I just started on First Nephi again today. He was large in stature. I suspect that he did some physical training or at least acquired his strength through working in the family business. I imagine that he was a cheerful worker. I wonder what attitudes his brothers had. Anyway, I have just been doing Strength Snacks or micro workouts off and on every day. That is working well.

Dustin Blackmore
5 days ago

Keep up the good work! It's amazing what can be done through small and simple means.