DO IT TIRED
There are three realities of high achievement that I want to highlight here today. Here’s the first: the pursuit of winning in any important area of life is exhausting. I don’t care where it happens - in the office, on the playing field, in the classroom, or at home. If what you’re chasing is meaningful and significant, then there’s a pretty good chance you’ve shown up here today committed, once again, to giving all you’ve got to this endeavor, and at the same time recognizing that all you’ve got feels like just barely enough to get by.
The truth is, it's easy for any of us to focus on our fatigue. Because our brain is hardwired to find and follow the path of least resistance, we feel compelled to hit the snooze button again and again. We actually convince ourselves that just 10 more minutes will actually make a difference. Throughout the day, we feel it. We think about it. We lean on it. “I’m tired” is the low-hanging fruit and the easy escape for avoiding even the baseline responsibilities winning requires us to accept, let alone the extra or optional ones that are presented to us each day.
This brings me to reality number two, that for better or worse, our mind is a powerful thing. Research proves that we think about and what we dwell on has a major influence on our energy and our response. For each of us, our psychology (the mental) directly impacts our physiology (the physical). For instance, all I have to do is mention the idea of yawning, and instantly the thought triggers a response from your body. There’s a high probability that you’re yawning right now, that you feel one coming on as we speak, or - if you’re really stubborn - that you’re doing your best to fight that instinctive urge. It’s all evidence that what we think about directly impacts our decisions and our behavior. (Go ahead, join the rest of us in letting it out.)
What all that really means is that there’s a tension each of us who say we want to win are required to wrestle with. On one hand, we have to acknowledge that fatigue is a real factor in how we feel, both mentally and physically, and it’s constantly available to us as an excuse - sometimes legitimately - for lowering our standards and accepting less than our best. On the other hand, we have to accept that giving in to that temptation and allowing how we feel to dictate our decisions and our behavior is rarely compatible with the success we say we’re after. Each of us have to figure out what to do with that.
I’m not here today trying to convince you that if you really want to win, then you can’t be tired. If that was true, then most of us - all of us, maybe - would be relegated to a life of mediocrity. What I am here to tell you is that you can feel fatigued. You can acknowledge the challenging part it plays in your pursuit here today. And, despite all that, you can still show up and perform. This is the third and most important reality I want to highlight here today: you have the power to do it tired. That’s not easy, of course, but it is possible, and it might actually be exactly what winning requires you to do.
We said it already, and it's worth repeating. Our mind is a powerful thing. Winning this battle requires a unique level of discipline and fortitude. Those qualities don’t come naturally for a brain hardwired to find the path of least resistance, but they are qualities each of us can cultivate and develop. Each one of us face these moments of decision throughout the day: do I focus on my feelings, embrace the excuse, avoid the work? Or do I do it tired? Sometimes those moments of testing are major, and sometimes they are minor. Sometimes they are public, and sometimes they are private. Regardless, each one demands a response from us. Every time we choose to get the job done - despite our fatigue - we strengthen that discipline and that fortitude, and in doing so make that difficult decision a little easier for next time.
Maybe there’s comfort today in acknowledging that when it comes to feeling like all you've got is just barely enough to get by, you’re not alone. There are plenty of people out there today who are feeling it, too. Those we consider champions in any important area of life - including the places you want to win - are unique and set apart, not in their ability to avoid feeling tired, but in their ability to perform anyway. That’s my challenge and encouragement for you here today. Feel the fatigue. Yawn (again) if you have to. Then do what winning requires you to do, even if that means doing it tired.
