You know that saying, “A year from now, you'll wish you started today?" For me, there’s not enough zip to that. I don’t think it generates the necessary sense of urgency in people. And generating, or raising, necessity is key for success, for continued commitment. Brendon Burchard talks of this at length in his book High Performance Habits. I have grown up playing sports my entire life, so for me, an athletic analogy works well. Like when you’re hurting at the end of a run and are struggling to finish.

I’m starting to get back into running. It’s something I know I can do anywhere, even while traveling. So I want to build up the habit again, because I used to love it. And it’s good for you, it’s what we’re built to do as humans.

Anyway, I was going on my third or fourth run today, and I decided to push it. It was hard. I got tired before the first mile was up. On the way back to the house, I was hurting pretty good. Towards the very end I was ready to give up. But I find I have some of my greatest epiphanies while running, or sometimes immediately after, when still flushed and exhausted. I thought to myself, “you’re not going to remember this pain, what this feels like right now, later today.” This train of thought helped me finish, and I reflected on it while doing my cool down and stretch.

It’s been about three hours since that run, and I can’t really recall how my body felt, not exactly. I’m too far removed. It’s one of the superpowers and curses of the human mind. And I think we can use it for motivation, for gut-checks, when the going is tough. It can help to realize that in a few hours’ time… hell, in about 20 minutes, we will no longer be with the pain or the struggle. This is true with physical endeavors, mental ones, with work, with anything. That utterly agonizing work meeting? Tomorrow you might remember that it was no fun, but you won’t feel the agony any more. So focus and push through it. I think about this a lot when sitting in traffic. A week later, I can’t tell you which days I sat in traffic or which days I didn’t. Our minds adapt to the present circumstances and current environment. And if we remember that when we’re struggling or suffering, it will ignite a little light of determination, of resolution, to push through it and past it.