Rise and Shine

Rise and shine.

6:00 AM 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 their unanimous permission for you to hit the snooze button and go back to dreamland.

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'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. Ten thousand streams fan out like a river delta before you each one promising the path of least resistance. Thing is, you're headed upstream. And when you make that choice-when you decide to turn your back on what's comfortable, what's 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 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 no time to dwell on how far you've come. You're in a fight against 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 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 invincible. Remember this is the grind; the battle royal between you, your body, your mind, and the devil on your shoulder who's 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 the fire lit beneath you. Remember what we're fighting for and never forget that momentum's a cruel mistress. She can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weak place 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 you got? Are you sure? And when the answer is yes and you've done all you can to prepare yourself for battle then it's time to go forth and boldly face your enemy. The enemy within. Only now you must take that fight into the open into hostile territory. You're a lion in a field of lions all hunting the same elusive 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. That for you the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.

Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe that winning can 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 thousand different voices are trying to tell you you're not ready for it, listen instead to that lone voice of dissent. The one that says you are ready. You are prepared. It's all up to you now.

So rise and shine.