Rise and Shine.
6am and your hand can't make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you that 'it's too early, too dark and too cold' to get out of bed. Aching muscles lie still in rebellion, pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move. A legion of voices are shouting for their permission for you to hit the snooze button and go back to dream land.
But you didn't ask their opinion.
The voice you've chosen to listen to is one of defiance; a voice that says there was 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 have 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 streams fan out like a river delta before you; each one promising the path of least resistance. Thing is, you're headed up stream.
When you make that choice, and decide to turn your back on whats comfortable, what's safe, and what some would call common sense, well that's Day 1. From there it only gets tougher. So just make sure this is something you want; because the easy way 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, but this is no time to dwell on how far you've come. You're in a fight with an opponent you can't see, but oh, you can feel him on your heels, can't you? Feel him breathing down your neck. You know what that is? That's you; your fears, your doubts, and your insecurities all lined up like a firing squad, ready to shoot you out of the sky.
But don't lose heart, while they're not easily defeated, they are far from invisible.
Remember, this is 'The Grind'; the battle royal between you and your mind, your body, and the devil on your shoulders, tellin' you 'this is just a game, this is 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 we're fighting for, and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress; she can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weak spot in your armor, that one tiny thing you forgot to prepare for. So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains 'is that all ya got, are you sure?'
And when the answer is yes, when you've done all you can to prepare yourself for battle -- then it's time to boldly go and face your enemy, the enemy within. Only now must you take the fight into the open, into hostile territory. You're a lion in a field of lions, all hunting the same illusive prey with a 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 that the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.
Luck is the last dying wish of those that believe winning can happen by accident. Sweat on the other hand, is for those that know that it's a choice; so decide now because destiny waits for no man.
When your time comes and a thousand different voices are trying to tell you that you're not ready for it, listen to that little voice that says 'you are ready, you are prepared; it's all up to you now'.
So rise and shine.
