When the Going Gets Tough

Growing up, I often heard the expression, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ And I’d forgotten that it was also a Billy Ocean song. Still, when I was younger, I had a vague sense of what it meant. But now, as I work to bring meaningful change to my life, the meaning behind the saying has more power. It is a reminder that when life becomes difficult, those who are strong work harder to meet the challenge. But let me be honest: lately, I’ve discovered just how weak I am.

You Can’t Win Without Discipline

I don’t know what happened. Well, maybe I do. When I realized that I had to change my life, and my habits, back in mid-April, I was motivated to change. I wasn’t happy with my life as it was, or how I was spending my time. The first decision I made was to step back from social media for a year. And with the time that I had gained back, I immediately made progress on my writing and running. I told myself, ‘No excuses,’ and joined a coaching program and got to work.

In terms of the coaching program, the weekly calls are scheduled on Tuesday afternoons, and at the time I worked from 3:00–11:00 pm. I wanted to minimize the number of calls I missed due to work, so I requested a move to the overnight shift. And it didn’t take long for me to really understand what ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ means. Because I wasn’t tough. I’d lost my discipline. I wasn’t showing up for myself the way I needed to. So, I went from winning to losing.

When the Going Gets Tough

I am trying to become strong again, to take action when challenges inundate me. Yes, I’m still adjusting to working overnight, and that is having a major impact on my energy levels. But if ‘No excuses’ is the rule and not the exception, then I must learn to push through the tiredness and figure out a way to focus. And that also means doing a better job at managing distractions, because that is what is taking me away from what matters at the moment.

No one said change is easy. And when you fall off the wagon, it can be hard to get moving again.  That’s when you must go back to your why—and remove everything that isn’t serving you or your life. Give yourself, as I’m trying to do with myself, the grace to fail and try again. And when the going gets tough, we should take Roy T. Bennett’s advice to “put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Don’t give up.”

And, hey…

Let me, then, leave you today with this last thought…

You are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And, best of all, you do not need anyone’s permission to be—unapologetically—who you are.