Your iPhone beeps, flashes in the dark. 5:00. In the morning.
Why. Why am I doing this. I should be sleeping. I should be dreaming. I should be dreaming of sleeping.
I’ll never be this person.
I’m tired,
I have a long day of work,
I can’t today.
I should sleep five more minutes.
But somewhere, deep down inside, you hear NO.
Just put your feet on the floor.
I can do that.
Just stand up.
Just put your clothes on.
Just slide on your shoes.
Just fill a water bottle.
Just drive to class.
Just check in.
Just start the warm-up.
Just do five minutes of class.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This is hard. I don’t belong here. WHY. Why am I here? This was a mistake.
NO.
Just do ten minutes.
You slow down. Gasping. There is no way. Can I leave now? No one will notice.
NO.
Now twenty.
Ok. Ok. I’m a 1/3 of the way through. But what if I can’t finish? I should leave before it gets to be too much.
NO.
Thirty.
I’m doing this. I’m really effing doing this. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
YES.
Forty.
Steady. Remain steady. Keep moving. Finish that rep.
YES.
Just make it to cool down.
Five more minutes. Finish strong. Remember why you started.
Holy shit. I can do it. I can f*cking do it!
And you stand there for a moment, realizing this was in you all along.
You can do it.
YES.
Relentless isn’t something you’re born with.
It’s not for the chosen few.
That it’s someone else’s life. And you’re their spectator.
Relentless is something you choose. Every minute of every day.
To turn off that alarm.
To get out of bed.
To show up.
To believe you’re enough.
Choosing, creating resilience.
So, choose the hard.
Choose to quiet the demons,
The voice that feeds your excuses, tells you that you can’t.
We ask you for relentless forward progress to believe you can.
Show up. Fight for yourself. Believe.
And do it again, tomorrow.