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A lot of us give up when we're just on the brink of reaching our goals. 

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, ascribes childhood discouragement, love, fear, and fear in self-realization as reasons why we don't attain our goals.

We often cave into the idea that we either aren't worthy of our goals, that our loved ones are always right about our goals, that we're just too afraid to reach our goals, or that are goals aren't meant to be attained from childhood.

Sometimes we don't even get to the point where we can get out of our mental blocks and just do it.

I remember reading an interview where someone asked Muhammad Ali how many sit-ups he did while training.

His response?

“I only start counting when it starts burning.”

I thought that response was brilliant.

It can mean that your progress in whatever it is you do doesn't count unless you are being challenged. That's where real growth happens. If you aren't working hard and pushing yourself to your limit, then you aren't really working. You're killing time. 

It also means that you've got to finish strong. 

Anybody can start a race. Anyone can go into a workout with high hopes. They can be ready to beat a previous record or lose weight. They might want to get stronger and even make a list of fitness goals. They'll plan out their weekly meals, listen to motivational audio books and buy a clothes size down.

But it takes more than that to see something through.

It takes strength and courage discipline, persistence, and resilience to finish.

It means overcoming your thoughts when they tell you to stop. It's funny; often when we're closest to the end of the tunnel is when we feel like giving up the most.

When I was I played football in university, we used to train really, really hard. I quickly realized that eventually there comes a time when you have to shut your mind off.

It's a beautiful cycle; the main function of your mind is to preserve the body. And the body is there to do the will of the mind. When you start doing something that engages your entire body, you feel pain.

That’s when the mind says stop. 

Don't.

You’ve got to find a way to override that weak, feeble mind.

You’ve got to find a way to shut it off and get your second wind.

You can go further. Your body has more. Resilience and persistence exist inside of you. You must keep going. You will never know if you give up.

You’ve got to keep trying. You’ve got to keep pushing.

You've got to #GETAFTERIT

- JH

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