Muhammad Ali famously said that he hated every minute of the training it took to win the world championship.
“But I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion,’” he said.
I think about that sometimes when all my hard work seems so pointless or boring or frustrating.
Instead of letting that highjack my enthusiasm, I imagine what my life will be like when I reach my goal.
How brightly will I smile stepping out on the town?
How much will I enjoy finally buying new clothes or getting a fresh hair cut?
Or running that annual 10K my friends always do without me?
Go ahead and try it. Don’t briefly think about it, like, “Yeah, that’ll be great.”
Fully invest your imagination. Get specific about the senses – touch, sight, smell, etc. Will you be in a good mood or a bad one? Will you be proud of yourself or more likely to stay home and feel bad about yourself?
Let’s get real! Fire up that imagination. It’s sooooo close to “inspiration.”
