It’s early May
as I stand at the edge of the pool
“It’s way too cold for this,” I say in my head
I dip my toe in
“This sucks!”
I don’t want to do this
This is not my idea of fun
It doesn’t matter if I do this now or not
No one is forcing me to do this
I don’t have to prove myself to anyone
blah blah blah blah
story after story after story
I bet you can relate standing in front of a task
Dreading doing something that is going to be uncomfortable
Physically
or
Mentally
You tell yourself story after story
Create excuse after excuse
Maybe it’s with working out
Maybe prepping your meals
Work project
Home project
Organization of your garage your basement
Having a tough conversation with an employee or loved one
Asking for help because you are just lost
We have all been there
If you haven’t then well you have lived a charmed or extremely sheltered life
and you can delete this email now.
But what did you learn from those situations?
I know that I learned that the pain, the discomfort, the fear
Is never
ever
ever
ever
(do you get it)
ever
as bad as reality.
Our mind turns that pool into the antarctic
It turns that conversation into an interrogation with the FBI
That meal prep looks like you are the lunch room lady feeding 500 kids
So…
JUMP IN!!!
Don’t give your mind the opportunity to talk itself out of the situation or prolong the inevitable
Tuck your knees
Grab your shins
Yell CANNONBALL!!!
And get it done!
You will feel better
You will build mental resilience
You will free up mental bandwidth
You only get one chance at this game
Quit standing on the side of the pool
wondering if its cold
wondering if its going to take your breathe away
You already know the answer
Yes it is
Yes it will
But :30 later it’s fine
coach “Cannonball” Doug
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