Ending a brutal day today, my morning got disrupted as it sometimes does. Consequently, I am entering my blog a little late in the day. I still have some pushups to finish and a few other things on my list to accomplish. I felt a lot of resistance today in trying to get my commitments done. 398 days ago I would have reacted to this resistance in typical fashion. Melted completely down, try to find a distraction to dull my senses, over eat a massive amount of unnecessary calories and end up going to bed way late and sleeping in half of Saturday morning, justify it by calling it rest and feeling generally miserable because I still have a list of 20 things to do that I need to cram into the 40% left of my 2 day weekend. However, I now understand a core principle of the committed person – avoiding resistance is futile.
In fact resistance is NECESSARY. You need resistance to grow. When you avoid resistance, you are either staying stagnant or regressing. If you have ever done any weight training in the gym, you will understand immediately. You have to increase the amount of resistance to build muscle. You can spread that resistance over many repetitions, or increase the amount done in a single repetition, but the concept holds true. Through resistance we gain strength. So turn and face the strain, because the resistance that you are experiencing will make you stronger.
That is if you actually force yourself to deal with it. If you avoid it, run from it, hide from it, or ignore it then you will not benefit. You have to face it and take it on. If you fail, that is perfectly acceptable. You faced it and failed, awesome. Next time you will be a little stronger. Keep challenging that resistance until you will eventually overtake that obstacle. I promise that you will discover after daily consistent effort that what once appeared to be an overwhelming obstacle, will seem like nothing to you in the future. You will gain strength and the resistance will also increase. The more powerful you become, the more capacity for resistance that you can handle. Somehow it seems the universe seems to get this, and applies just enough resistance that will require your every effort to overcome. Hey, I did not write the rules on this. It just is. Deal with it. Fight the power.
Your weaknesses will become strengths, but you have to face reality. You have to make an about face and put your face straight forward into the storm and stare the storm father straight in the eyes and will yourself forward by putting a least one forward every day. Slowly over time you will make progress, you will become stronger, more knowledgeable, more skilled, more passionate, more in tune. That storm has nothing on you, you are an amazing entity with incredible untapped power. Put that foot forward, no matter how hard it is to just take one step and pretty soon you will find yourself running headlong into the storm laughing hysterically as you find the joy in life that you have been missing by allowing your primal mind to overcome you and keep you in the trenches huddled in fear.
Of course, I am talking to myself here. I am the one that needs motivation because those damn pushups are not going to do themselves. That run in the morning is still going to happen whether I like it or not and I am going to go to bed tonight checking off last important task that will make today a great day.
Enjoy whatever resistance you are having right now. Embrace it, be grateful for it. Fight on Solider. Tomorrow you will find yourself just a little stronger.
Guy Reams (398)
365 Alumni
115 Days Left to 1st Marathon
