“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – Vince Lombardi
Yesterday I woke at 4:00 am, wrote, hiked mountain trails, worked out at the gym, took another long walk in town, and stayed up late.
Today it’s raining and will be all day. I could sleep the day away. I may be asleep right now. Is there such a thing as sleep writing? I did it in college. I’m pretty sure my son did it last night.
While writing may be possible in near-sleep condition, there are other things that don’t fare so well. I’d be wise if I made no major life decisions today. I shouldn’t make a long trip. I’d better make sure to take an extra breath before I speak. I might be grumpy. My reaction time will be slow. I might not make the best choices.
I might be a coward.
Soldiers train for times like these. Combat isn’t a great place for a nap. During intense battle no sleep is possible. SEALs have hell week to sort out the survivors but active SEALs report that it was mild compared to real-world situations they’ve faced since.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – George S. Patton
I doubt I’ll be called to defend my family or my country today but there’s more to courage than physical bravery. There’s the mental bravery that comes before it. Without courageous preparation and courageous decisions and courageous persistence you never get to the place where you put yourself physically on the line.
Courage begins at home on tired, rainy days.
I don’t know what you are facing today. Some days, for me, courage began with simply getting out of bed, starting what I knew would be a long, hard day, facing it.
Some days courage has been facing a pile of medical bills. Or trying something really challenging I’ve never done before, having the courage to believe I can do it.
Some days, after finding out I couldn’t do it, courage has been summoning the will to try it again. Because who gets things right the very first time?
Right now, in my coffee shop, I see a Chinese woman having the courage to learn English. She’s going to Atlanta tomorrow. For her, that is courage.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – William Shakespeare
Courage is more important than ever on tired, rainy days. It is the thing that will define your tomorrow. Courage is the door through which all possibilities must enter.
Because courage doesn’t mean waiting until you feel like it, until you have a crowd with you, until you lose weight, until you know more, until you are strong. Waiting until fear goes away is not courage.
Courage is starting now, as you are, with what you’ve got.
Even if you’re tired.
Even if it rains.
Even if . . .
Photo: Tennessee River Gorge in the Rain by Dennis Ritchie
