That Moment

02 May That Moment

We’ve all had that moment. You know which one I’m referring to, right?

The one where we quit.

It’s that moment when we stopped pushing ourselves because it got really hard. Or it hurt. Or we didn’t think we could handle failure again. That moment. We’ve all got at least one of them.

We quit on a great relationship because it was harder than we “thought” relationships were supposed to be.

We threw away our manuscript because we thought our writing sucked.

We just stopped showing up to the gym because we don’t look like everyone else.

We quit.

Somewhere along the way, the discomfort we felt just overpowered us. And we let that moment win.

But what if we didn’t quit?

“What if” – the two most haunting words you’ll ever say. Two small words, but with weight beyond worlds.

In her 2011 book Regrets of the Dying, author Bronnie Ware shares that during her time working in hospice, she learned a common theme among individuals at the end of their lives. Each conversation revolved around the five biggest regrets each had – and the similarities each person had to the other.

The top regret? People asked “what if” they’d lived a life true to themselves, and not what others expected of them.

Their lives ending, and they carried the weight of “what if” with them until their final days.

I don’t want that to haunt me 30 years from now – and I imagine you don’t either.

I don’t want to look back and ask “what if” I hadn’t walked away when things got difficult?

Do you?

So “what if” we change our perspective from being haunted by that moment and instead start focusing on this one.

Let that moment start to motivate you to say “never again” instead of following you around, whispering discouragement in your ears.

Let this moment be an opportunity to find out how much more you’re truly capable of. Let this moment inspire you to keep competing. Let this moment forever take the place of that one.

One more rep.

One more rise back up.

One more moment.

One more day.

One more year.

One life. No more.

Let today be the day you decide to leave that moment behind, so you can take advantage of this one. Let this week be the week you give it your all. Let the remaining eight months of this year be the foundation that no storm can shake.

Let this be the time you made the resolution that that moment doesn’t define you, because this next one will be different.

“Let your past be a reminder, never an anchor. Onward, Competitors.”