We Go Again!

 

 

Deep breath! It is the middle of the day on Thursday. I have already completed 60% of my 75 Hard list which included a 13-mile road ride during my lunch time for the outdoor workout. Yet, I am questioning why am I doing this? No one is making me. I don't have to finish it, and no one would know. At that moment I had to take inventory of everything that was bogging me down. It has been a very emotional week at work, and I had some heavy things on my heart. I have not slept well and that has left me exhausted. Why add to my list of things and the stress of doing something I don't have to do. I was caught up on one of my actions which was one of my three daily tasks, and I was just looking for an excuse to get out of it.  

 Every day I have had to overcome challenges just like this. I don't feel like doing the outdoor workout. I still have water to drink at 7:30 pm. It is 9 PM and I still need to get my reading done. But that is the thing, every day we all have something. Everyone has something that gets in the way or that we use as excuses to not get out there and get after our goals. 

 

Then I got home to find out our dogs had gotten into a fight over food. One of them had to go to the animal ER at 5 pm. I still had things to get done on my list. My head immediately reverts to looking for one excuse and this could be it. Instead, I grabbed my book, my half gallon of water. We left the ER at 8 pm. Our dog is now a pirate puggle as he lost his eye. I finished all my tasks in what felt like a day filled with opportunities to give up and make excuses. I wrote in my challenge tracking journal that it felt so good to reflect on the day and instead of making excuses I succeeded to meet my goals. That is what keeps me driving forward. Because overcoming adversity feels much better than giving into it. 

 

Cameron Hanes talks about the “must be nice” mentality in his book Endure. You know the people that say it must be nice to be that fit or have this success. He says: “For me, success has come at a high, sometimes not-so-nice price. For me “Must be nice” is a swan song of incompetence. “Must be nice” is the white flag of defeat. There is nothing nice or light and sweet about success. Heavy lies the crown, and it comes with a not-so-nice price.”


Nearly every person that is fit, especially in their 40s and beyond, doesn’t look that way just because. It took work, time, and sacrifice to make it happen. 75 hard is not a 100-mile race, but for me it is the mental battle that I want to endure. To push myself every day to succeed and push through excuses preventing me from that success. The last seven days were hard and glorious, and I have grown because of them all. I am ready for week two. 

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