Well, you did it. You made it. You made it to Friday. And not just any Friday. You made it to Finish Strong Friday. Here at the Sweet Spot, we know that finishing on Friday and finishing strong on Friday is all about what's in your head, what's in your mind. And beautiful souls, we've had a great week here talking about taking action, trusting ourselves, winning it all, and making our moves. And here on Finish Strong Friday, we want to tell you that you are not alone. If this week has tested you, if this week has handed you some disappointments or some challenges, if you're feeling a little weary, if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed, or if you're feeling like, wow, the challenge is so huge in front of me, you've come to the right place. This is Finish Strong's Friday on the sweet spot. And I'm Dr. Derek Sweet and I'm walking with you. You know, as a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in high performance, you know, I sometimes believe that the real challenge is not starting strong, it's staying locked in when you're tired, when you're frustrated, and when you're feeling like you're running on fumes, when you're injured. I've seen this with some of the greatest athletes that I've worked with. That when they are tired, when they're injured, they find a way to grow legs on something called perseverance. Their perseverance has legs. They become stronger when the opposition or the challenge becomes bigger in front of them. Can we talk about that? Can we even put that into biblical wisdom, into ancient wisdom? Can we frame it from that perspective before we jump in? In Ecclesiastes, it says this. And by the way, it's Ecclesiastes 9 11. Okay, verse 911. Oh my gosh, listen, that's a powerful number right there, right? 9-1-1, dial it up for an emergency. The race is not to the swift, it's not for the swift, it's not for the strong to have the battle. Time and chance happen to everyone. The race is not for the swift, nor the battle for the strong. You know who the race is for? The one that can endure to the end. The one that's gonna finish strong. This verse hits because it humbles the grind. It reminds us winning isn't about speed or muscle. It isn't about power and strength. It's about showing up again and again when everybody else is checking out or others are making excuses. You don't have to be the fastest. You just have to stay in the race. Walter Elliott, mindfulness writer, perseverance is not a long race, it's many short races, one after the other. And isn't that true of life in some way that you get finished with one thing and then there's another one? And you, my friend, have run so many races. I'm just so proud of you for all the races you've run and so many of them that you've accomplished and done so well. When you look back, you've done a great job. You've run the race. That's a mindset shift, right? Not thinking of it as one long race, but as several races. And right now you might be in a race that you're running and you're running, and it's that 18th mile, and it's really hard, and it doesn't feel like you're making progress, keep running. Right now you might feel like you're going through hell. Keep moving, you're not gonna stay there. You don't need to conquer the whole mountain today. You just need to keep taking that next step and then a next one. Break it down one moment, one challenge, one decision at a time. That's your power. It has always been your power. You've always found a way to win, you've always found a way to overcome. You just have to slow down and remember the ways in which you did that. The Japanese proverb that we always quote fall seven times, stand up eight. That's who you are, that's who we all are. Here's the truth. Nobody finishes strong because they never fall or they never fell. They finish strong because they refuse to stay down when they fall. And that's worked for me many times when I fell. It was about, are you gonna get up? Absolutely. Bounce back is the real flex here. That's the flex is bouncing back. And you know you have an ability to reset yourself and to rise. Because that's where the winning lives isn't getting up. And I'm proud of you because you got up today and you face it today, and you listen to the sweet spot today on Friday. This is good stuff right now. So, how do you finish strong today, my friends? Maybe it's finishing the task that you've been dragging on, maybe it's giving yourself a rest that you've been needing to give, but you've not given yourself permission. Maybe it's walking back into a tough conversation with a calmer, clearer, maybe more forgiving spirit. Whatever it is, finish with purpose. Even if it's a quiet finish, finish. Even if it's a messy finish, finish. Even if it's a kind of a doubtful, you're shaky, if not sure, finish, you just finish it. Even if it means you have to take one breath, one step at a time. Whatever you do, don't quit. My mom gave me a poem once when I was in high school, maybe. I can't remember the whole poem, but I'll never forget the title or one of the lines in it. It said, Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Rest if you must, but don't you quit. Don't quit 10 minutes before the miracle arrives. So many of us lose the miracle because we walked away. Lean in, keep moving, and keep trusting. Because finishing strong, my friends, isn't about being flawless. It isn't about being perfect, it's about being faithful to the mission, trusting God to walk with you. And you've done it a thousand times. You've got this. This is the sweet spot. We believe in you here, the sweet spot. We walk with you here, the sweet spot. We are your partners. I am with you. And so I'll see you tomorrow for Saturday's message. And you know tomorrow is what? Yes, it's self-care Saturday. I can't wait to see you. This is Dr. Derek Sweet. Be blessed. I want you to finish strong, and we will talk.