THE TASK
At first, it’s impossible. The biggest, hardest, worst thing:
Accept that she doesn’t like you anymore
Ace the math final
Save every dollar you can
Get over him for real, don’t even let him walk in your mind
Find meaning, humility, and growth in rejection
Stay soft and nimble while the world tries to make you bitter and stiff
Admit it: your hero no longer deserves the title; assume it yourself
Stake a boundary where you never wanted one; defend it ruthlessly
Take the medicine so the baby doesn’t come too soon
Don’t let the dark thoughts narrate
Set an alarm for every two hours; missing a warning sign could ruin your life
In the middle, it becomes shockingly doable. Habits are formed, muscles gain memory. From far away, you look effortless. In a clip, you sound cocky.
Toward the end, it’s impossible again. Possibly even less possible than at the start.
The monster sees you’ve made headway. He throws everything at you to ensure you fall off-course:
Doubt, distraction, booze, sugar
Insatiable libido, unearned gifts
Unwelcome attention, empty promises
Requests disguised as obligations
(All to be filed under "Shit You Don’t Need.”)
When he sees you’re not deterred, he’ll try to make you think it’s enough that you came this far. Instead of bleeding, sweating, shaking your way to gold, here’s a participation trophy and a giftcard for a very nice manicure at a very nice spa. He’ll throw in a neck massage and a croissant bigger than your crossbody.
But you didn’t come this far to only come this far....
In this final hour, there’s no light. No flowers, no coffee, no cards. No one's cheering, no one's watching, no one cares. You wonder if they ever did. (“Wondering” satisfies the monster; don’t stay here long.)
This hour is about 3 things:
1. Dodging the unnecessary shit hurled at you.
2. Not undoing the good you achieved.
3. Moving forward.
When you’re actually done, dance, laugh, indulge, give, spend, take. Feel this release for as long and as intensely as possible. For this night only, the monster sleeps. Tomorrow, when you add the achievement to the list of biggest, hardest, worst things, you’ll begin to discredit it, just as a new task appears. ...