This is a maxim! There will be days when going forward with your training will seem to be too great a task. Each of us who takes on a goal also signs up for the ultimate “day of reckoning” when we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and decide whether we have enough left in our tank to go on.
As a matter of fact, this very morning I hustled off to the gym extra early early (5:30 am) to get a head start on my training and my day. I got there and my whole body just did not feel like it had any life in it. Everything I lifted felt like it weighed a ton. My whole being seemed absent and I wished I was anywhere else but here in the gym. But, as they say, “When motivation runs out discipline must take over.” I thus, pushed on through a very heavy and intense shoulder workout.
This little vignette is not quite what we are driving at. Let me explain. There will come a time when we truly think that we cannot push ourselves a moment longer toward our goal. Fatigue will turn us into cowards if we let it. Part of being discouraged and ready to quit is the constant sensation of exhaustion. This state always presents itsself in the face of lots of work to do. When we reach this state (and we all will) this is where we try to remember why and how we got to this point. We have to reignite that fire that has brought us this far. Try to bring your ultimate goal into sharp focus and never let it fade from view. Get back in the game! Take a little time to get refocused and return to the gym with a vengeance. It is here, as noted above that, “When motivation runs out discipline must take over.” This is an act of the “will” on our part. No matter the pain and inconvenience we must press on. It is here that we reach deep for the guts to win.
In closing, all of us will experience times of absolute discouragement and fatigue, this is a given. To win we must remember where we came from. How we got to where we are and what we need to do finish the race that is set before us. My admonition/challenge to all of us is to get up when we are down even if it’s totally an act of the “will.” This is where champions are formed.
Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 