Motivation For Those Bad Days

Today has been shit. I've been cranky all day, until now. And I'm sure it is because I was not getting enough food this morning/afternoon. EVERYTHING annoyed me. Stupid comments people made annoyed me. Thinking about a test I have Thursday annoyed me. Spending one more minute on a group project annoyed me. Even going to the gym, I started off with pull-ups and lat pull-downs and was just having an off day, wasn't getting as much strength and power as usual, and that annoyed me. It threw off everything I tried to do. So instead of bitching and complaining of everything and everyone that got to me today, I came home and searched for some inspiration. Some motivation to let me know that, yes, we all have bad days but you know what, tomorrow is a new day and tomorrow will be better. I can do it. I gave it my all. And that's all that matters at the end of the day.

So here's what I found. Some I got from movie quotes, some from famous people, and some I added to finish off the thoughts I thought were incomplete or just needed a little Susie to 'em. Hope this helps get you going.

Inch by inch, play by play, until we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentleman, believe me. And we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time...When you add up all those inches, that's going to make the difference between winning and losing, winning and dying. I'll tell you this, in any fight, it's the guy who's willing to die who's going to win that inch. 

 -Tony D'Amato from Any Given Sunday (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0009155/quotes)

There's a certain delusional quality that all successful people have to have.  You have the belief that I'm going to do something different then has ever been done before. They have this idea that they aren't going to be told what to do, because they know where they're going. And you always hear the saying be realistic. Well, realism and success are on two different ends of the spectrum. You're always told in life that things of grand accomplishment are unrealistic. But the people who actually act to prove things are realistic, are the successful people. Being realistic is the most common road to mediocrity.

The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts. Talent you have naturally, but skill is only developed after hours and hours of beating on your craft. Anyone who got to where they were, not only has talent, but skill is the overwhelming factor in what got them to where they are. While the other guy's sleeping, I'm working. While the other guy's eating, I'm working. No matter how talented you are, your talent is going to fail you if you're not skilled. Delay gratification and take it one day at a time.

You may have more talent then me, you might be smarter then me, but if we get on the treadmill together, there's two things. either you get off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple. -Will Smith

You don't start off trying to build a wall. You don't say I'm going to build the biggest, baddest wall. You start off with a brick. You say I'm going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid. And you do this every single day, and soon enough you have a wall. -Will Smith

Will Smith's stuff came from this little video clip (http://www.smart-goals-guide.com/actor-will-smith-video.html).

There's no need to have a plan b because it distracts from plan a. - No idea

In order to get to 1,000, you need a thousand 1's. Now each 1 seems insignificant in terms of what it represents, but you need each 1 to add up to 1,000. Now, you make think to yourself, it's okay to miss my workout today, because I worked out yesterday. Or it's okay if I don't read the Wall Street Journal today, one day's not going to kill me. But one day missed of practice takes one day longer to get better. And it's the idea of understanding that each day is the opportunity to build and carry out a task to reach that goal or that idea that you want to reach. Put in the hours and hours every single day on every activity and every task that's going to get you to be the person you want to be. How are you going to act on your dream? On your accomplishments?

If you need motivation listen to this http://8tracks.com/thedjraz/motivation-speeches . (this is a great website to get playlists fyi) Actually, listen to that all the time. It pumps me up, it makes you want to work hard and succeed. One thing I've realized, though, is that wanting something isn't enough. You can't just want to be the best and you can't just want to get all A's or want to get 1st place. You have to work your ass off for it. You have to go out and do something to earn that. Do you want it bad enough that you are going to sacrifice pizza? Ice cream? Beer?! Maybe. But prove it to yourself. Sacrifice leads to success, without sacrifice, the best you can hope for is to be average. To be like everyone else. And my problem with being like everyone else? Well, everyone else just sucks.

How do you start your day each morning? Do you angrily smash your alarm clock to pieces and roll out of bed in exhaustion, dreading what you do each day? Or do you jump up, well rested because you went to bed before 11 pm like you know you should, and get excited to tackle another day doing what you love?

Do you blindly find the coffee from the cupboard because you aren't able to function without caffeine? Is that what it takes to wake up in the morning and feel alive?

What about your workouts? Do you focus on big, compound lifts? Do you keep a detailed log and track your progress week after week? Do you stick with a program longer than a week? When it comes to cardio, do you hop on the elliptical while reading a mindless magazine, or do you find the biggest hill or stadiums, and sprint up there until you can see your heart beating through your t shirt?

There's always an easy way out. You can always live a life of mediocrity and unhappiness and do what everyone else does. Or you can choose to not be like everyone else. And you can choose to be unique. It takes too much energy to be jealous of someone else--their life, their job, their abs, whatever. It's a better idea to use that energy and focus it on bettering your own life.

And by the way, I hit my nutrients again today, even though I started really off. So even when you are starting to have a bad day, take a step back, and know that you can turn it around. That's all friends.