Rise and shine. It’s 6 o’clock and your hand can’t even make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you it’s too early, too dark, and too cold to get out of bed.
Aching muscles lie still in rebellion; pretending your brain is not commanding them to move. A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission to hit the snooze button and go back to dream land.
You didn’t ask their opinion. The voice you’ve chosen to listen to is one of defiance. The voice that says there’s a reason you set that alarm in the first place. So sit up, put your feet on the floor and don’t look back, because we’ve got work to do.
Welcome to the Grind
For what is each day but a series of conflicts between the right way, and the easy way. 10,000 strong streams sound out like a river delta before you; each one promising the path of least resistance.
The thing is, you’re headed upstream. And then you make that choice, when decide to turn your back on what’s comfortable, safe, and what some would call, “common sense”. Well that’s Day One. From there it only gets tougher.
So just make sure this is something that you want. Because the easy way out will always be there ready to wash you away. All you have to do is pick up your feet.
But you aren’t going to are you? With each step comes the decision to take another. You’re on your way now, but this is not about how far you’ve come. You’re in a fight against an opponent, but, oh you can feel them on your heal can’t ya? You can feel them breathing down the back of your neck.
You know what that is? That’s you. Your fears, your doubts, your insecurities all lined up like firing squad ready to shoot you out of the sky. But don’t lose heart.
While they’re not easily defeated, they’re far from invincible.
Remember, this is the grind. The battle royal between you, your mind, your body, and the devil on your shoulders telling you that this is just a game. This is just a waste of time. Your opponents are stronger than you. Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heartbeat. Burn away your self-doubt with a fire lit beneath you.
Remember what you’re fighting for and never forget that momentum’s cruellest thing close to us. She can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weak place in your amour. That one place you forgot to prepare for. So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains…. Is that all you got?
Are you sure?
When the answer is ‘Yes’, you’ve done all you can to prepare yourself for battle. Then it’s time to go forward and boldly face your enemy; the enemy within. Only now you must take that fight into the open, the hostel territory. You’re a lion in a field of lions, all hunting the same illusive prey with the desperate starvation that says, “Victory is the only thing that can keep you alive.”
So believe that voice that says, “You can run a little faster. And you can throw a little harder. And for you, the Laws of Physics are merely a suggestion.”
Luck is for those who want to believe that winning can only happen by accident. Sweat, on the other hand, is for those who know it’s a choice.
So decide now, because destiny waits for no man. And when your time comes and a 1000 different voices are trying to tell you, “You’re not ready for it!” Listen instead to the little voice that says, “You are ready! You are prepared! It’s all up to you now!”
So rise and shine.
