“I shine ’cause I grind” is the chorus for a Crime Mob song that is on my playlist. On especially tough days, I’ll click my iPod to that song, and I’ll repeat the chorus over and over: “I shine ’cause I grind, I shine ’cause I grind”.
Like most things, you have to look for the motivation. But sift through the verses of this song, and you find the line: “I got an aura about myself, and that’s greatness”.
It’s funny, but I still remember the look on my office-mate’s face when I told her (after a long training run) that it was a mental victory. She was perplexed. And I proceeded to explain that I wasn’t motivated to train that day.
Her response was perfectly warranted: “But you LOVE to train!”
Sometimes we forget that people bear witness mainly to our actions, and rarely do they get a glimpse of the inner battle, the war declared between body and mind. Sure, there are almost always moments during training that are “perfect”. They are Ferlinghetti’s rebirth, a renaissance of wonder. You’re weightless, in flight, one with the Earth’s rotation.
But often it is a battle to get out that door and onto the track, or the bike, or the pool deck.
Like many things I know are good for me — eating broccoli, watching a TED Talk, cleaning the house, bathing — sometimes I’m simply not in the mood.
And that’s where you must have strategies in place in order to set yourself in motion. Momentum, as they say, is a cruel mistress.
So what is your plan?
I ask myself, How will you feel once you’re finished? (I even go as far as “feeling” that sense of fulfillment and accomplishment). If that doesn’t work, there are videos (2-3 minutes each) that I watch. If those don’t work, I try to change from the outside in. I get all of my gear on so that even if I don’t feel like an athlete, now I look like one.
And I suppose if it agrees with you, don’t ever underestimate the power of caffeine.
I stand by this quotation: “Luck is the last dying wish of those who believe winning can happen by accident. Sweat, on the other hand, is a choice”. If you are at the top of your game (as an athlete, or as a parent, or as a professional), or if you are striving to reach the top of your game, then you likely have something in common with those committed to performing optimally. You are consistent. You do what you need to do, especially when you don’t want to do it. In other words, you shine ’cause you grind.
You got an aura about yourself, and that’s greatness.
Traveling Wherever 