Keep Going

"Sometimes, the hardest part of a workout is getting up off the floor and into the shower afterward," I thought. I was staring up at the ceiling in my living room, wondering if I in fact had to go into work that morning. 

I've realized that it can actually be really hard to do stuff you like to do (like take a nice shower) because the stuff you have to do (exercise) drains you. Which is really weird. But think about it: after a hard day of work, it's super easy to veg on the couch. It's much harder to get off that couch and work on a home improvement project you're really excited about, try a new recipe, or even call a friend. Because hey, I'm really tired, and why should I have to do anything else today? Didn't I already do a lot of stuff?

And then, on the flip side, the opposite is also hard: buckling down to do boring things after you just finished some awesome, incredible things! After a youth ministry night where it was really evident that God was working, who wants to go into the office in the morning and do paperwork or go to a staff meeting? (Insert a snarky "said no one ever" comment here.) 

Basically, I conclude that life is just really hard sometimes, no matter what. But there's gotta be a life lesson in here somewhere...

I've pondered it a bit, and I think it's the "after" people who rock at life. "Stick-to-it-ive-ness," perseverance, follow-through, whatever you want to call it. It's the people who decide that yesterday's hard work doesn't count for today; that whatever happened in the previous moment doesn't give them excuses for the present; that the world doesn't owe them anything for living life to the full. 

I'll stop going all motivational speaker on you now. Basically - and I'm saying this to myself more than anyone - just get up off the floor. No more excuses.