Roll a stone up a hill

In Greek mythology there is a fascinating character. Sisyphus was the alleged father of Odysseus (from "the Odyssey"), and was king of Corinth (A small city state later made famous by the Apostle Paul in the book of Corinthians.) Sisyphus was a crafty man and when he died, according to Greek legend, Sisyphus grabbed Thanatos (think of the grim reaper) and put him into fetters so that no one died until Zeus sent Ares to free Thanatos and march Sisyphus to Hades (think Bithlo).

Sisyphus had told his wife, Merope, before he died, not to give the usual sacrifices to the dead. When he got to Hades, he complained to Hades that his wife was neglecting her duty and persuaded Hades to allow Sisyphus to come back to Earth and chastise her. When he got back to Corinth he refused to return until he was dragged back to Hades.

As a punishment from the gods for tricking them twice, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a big stone up a hill; but before it reached the top of the hill it rolled down and Sisyphus had to do it all over again.

It was the ultimate punishment, something that was designed to crush the pride of Sisyphus and demoralize him. Sisyphus took an entirely different approach. He took the rolling of the stone up the hill as his challenge and he took pride in it. Instead of crushing him, rolling the stone up the hill became his defining trademark.

From this ancient Greek legend we have derived the "Sissy squats" in weightlifting. We also have learned that there is no such thing as a punishment, if taken with the right attitude. What was supposed to be a punishment, instead defined the nobility of Sisyphus.

What would happen if each of us looked at each task with the same pride of Sisyphus? There is no such thing as a task beneath us, or a task that is too hard for us. Instead, we are faced with challenges that can define our character and show us the nobility within each of us. We can take any challenge that comes our way and create an opportunity to become great.