Motivational Monday - Winning is a Choice

This is an amazing inspirational video for athletes (swimmers in particular) but so much of it applies to anytime we set a lofty goal that requires hard work. We've included the transcript for you.


Rise and shine.

6 a.m. and your hand can’t make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you that it’s too early, too dark and too cold to get out of bed. Aching muscles lie still in rebellion pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move. A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission for you to hit the snooze button and go back to dream land.

But you didn’t ask their opinion.

The voice you chose to listen to is one of defiance. A voice that says there was a reason you set that alarm in the first place. So sit up, put your feet on the floor and don’t look back because we’ve got work to do. Welcome to the grind.

For what is each day but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy way? 10,000 streams span out like a river delta before you, each one promising the path of least resistance. The thing is, you’re headed upstream. And when you make that choice, when you decide to turn your back on whats comfortable, safe, and what some would call common sense, well that’s Day 1. From there it only gets tougher. So just make sure this is something you want, because the easy way out will always be there ready to wash you away. All you have to do is pick up your feet.

But you aren’t going to are you? With each step comes the decision to take another. You'ree on your way now, but this is no time to dwell on how far you have come. You are in a fight against an opponent you can't see but oh you can feel himon your heels can’t you, feel him breathing down your neck. You know who that is? That’s you. Your fears, doubts and insecurities lined up like a firing squad ready to shoot you out of the sky. But don’t lose heart. While they aren’t easily defeated, they are far from invincible.

Remember this is the grind. The battle royal between you and your mind, your body and the devil on your shoulder who is telling you this is just a game, this is just a waste of time, your opponent are stronger than you.

Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heart beat. Burn away your self doubt with the fire underneath you. Remember what we're fighting for and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress. She can turn on the dime with the smallest mistake. She is always searching for the weak place in your armor; the one tiny thing you forgot to prepare for.

So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains, "Iis that all you got? Are you sure?" And when answer is yes and you have done all you can to prepare yourself for battle then it’s time to go forth and boldly face your enemy. The enemy within.

Only now you must take that fight into the open, into hostile territory. You're a lion in a field of lions all hunting the same elusive pray with a desperate starvation that says victory is the only thing that can keep you alive. So believe that voice that says you can run a little faster, and you can run a little harder, and that for you the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.

Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe that winning can happen by accident: sweat, on the other hand, is for those who know it's a choice. So decide now, because destiny waits for no man, and when your time comes and a thousand different voices are trying to tell you you're not ready for it, listen instead to that lone voice of dissent. The one that says you are ready, you are prepared. It's all up to you now.

So rise and shine.