You need to grind it out.
Don’t look for a magic formula, a secret recipe, or something that you forgot or mysteriously overlooked.
I know grinding it out is not an easy proposition, and it’s not what you want to hear at this moment, but the only way out, is to grind your way through. It is exactly the kind of short cut you seek. The only true and tested way. The shortest approach to where you want to be. A breath away from the person you wish to be.
We are not talking about being involved in something toxic or grinding yourself stupid against a dead end. We are talking about your dreams. About your purpose in life.
We are talking about staying motivated when everyone who was cheering you on found something else to do. We are talking about the time when you are left alone, without any real sense of purpose or where you are, or what motivated you to be here, in the first place.
Zig Ziglar, the mystical sage of Yazoo City, Mississippi, reminds us that motivation is like bathing. It is a very good idea to do it well and to do it often.
The rest of the time you just have to grind it out.
Don’t look back at where you’ve been or the life you’ve lived. Don’t look ahead either and get discouraged by all the things still left undone.
Don’t focus on anyone who seems to be competing against you. They have their own journey. They have their own struggles. Their own challenges. So never compare yourself to anyone, and fight your feeling to quit.
Grind it out.
You’re not being asked to be successful. To win. You’re not being asked to know why and where you are going. You’re not being asked anything, except to honour your commitment to yourself, and keep digging your ditch.
Grind it out.
Don’t ask how it is going to get done. Believe that it will be done, and work so that it can get done.
Don’t measure. Don’t count. Don’t change lanes. Don’t chase butterflies or bright shiny objects. Don’t get down on yourself. Don’t scream at people. Don’t get discouraged.
Above all else, don’t give up.
Grind it out.
You see. Grinding it out means that the game is not over. Hope is not dead. Faith still contains within itself a myriad of possibilities.
Today, you feel tired and lonely. Today, you feel dejected and defeated.
You’re not wrong, that is exactly how you feel, but don’t project your feelings into the future. What you are today is not an indication of who you’re planning on becoming tomorrow.
So, grind it out.
Pick up your pen and continue writing. Turn on your digital recorded and continue recording your song. Ask forgiveness again. Yes, again. Put down your cigarette. Stay sober for the next twenty-four hours. Go for a walk. Get back in the weight room. Leave your abusive relationship. Leave your stuff. Just go.
Grind it out.
It feels oppressive. It feels tedious. There doesn’t seem to be an end.
But there is.
You will be free. You will be stronger. You’ll reach your summit and begin the climb of another.
But not, if you don’t grind this out.
