The Push Through
August 19th, 2011 § 2 Comments
I love the gym. I’ve gone almost every day for a few weeks now and I’ve come to rely on getting that workout in to stay sane. I wake up at 6AM every day because I’m a horrible sleeper and the routine helps, even when I’ve only fallen asleep at 2AM. I LOVE mornings, love the quiet and the potential, and starting the day out at the gym makes me feel good.
Actually, what makes me feel good is the endorphin high and knowing I did something healthy for myself when I really didn’t want to. See, as much as I love the gym, I hate the actual workout. At least, the first 15 minutes of it. I get on the x-trainer and I start pedaling and I cling to the handles and cuss my way through that. By minute twenty, I either stop or I start to feel like I could just pedal forever!! Why did I ever hate the actual workout? Whee!!
This, my friends, is the push through. You know of what I speak. If you can just hang on through the adjustment, you can do almost anything. It’s Newton’s physics – the object has to get in motion. It ain’t easy. But once it gets there…. it’s *always* worth it. It’s also why my favorite piece of writing advice is “Discipline builds momentum,” from Lilith Saintcrow. (Okay, perhaps my favorite advice, period. Just do the damn work.)
In the moment on the cross-trainer, when I am convinced my legs are going to fall off and I’m going to die, I think it can’t get any worse, and that it’s not really worth so much sweat and panting. It can’t be… and then, like magic, it can. The thing about the push through that I want to stress is that no matter how many times you experience it, it never gets any easier. In the three weeks I’ve gotten into my gym habit, I’ve already shaved time off my mile and my heart rate has steadied a bit. The work out gets easier. The push through doesn’t.
So it is in writing. (And life in general, but I’m a writer.)
Things worth doing are worth the push through. They matter more if you have to go through a push through to achieve them. When I only work out for twenty minutes, I feel good, but I don’t feel as good as if I ride the push through and then rock a fuller workout. It’s not a good workout if I’m not literally dripping sweat and my legs aren’t jelly. This is, of course, all metaphor for bleeding onto the page. Don’t half-ass your story because the push through is hard. Cut deep and wring yourself dry.
You’ll think you’re going to die in the moment, but on the other side of the push through, it’ll be worth it. I promise.
[...] this post by jessica corra explains it all so much more eloquently, especially the part where she relates it to sports, specifically running. just because i hit 3 miles yesterday doesn’t mean that running today is going to be easy. i mean, it might. the weather might be cool and crisp and my legs might be fresh, but then again, the humidity might be solid and my legs could feel like that as well. who knows? all i know is that i have to push through and keep running because once i’m done that’s when i feel all ENDORPHINEY and SHINY and TRA LA LA LA LA LA and GOOD. [...]
[...] I’ve said, the push through never gets easier. But what I’m learning this time around is that that’s a good thing. [...]