Change hurts, right?
 
It is an important lesson for all of us to learn.  Change hurts.  It hurts in life and it hurts in sport. 

Even when you know the change will lead to good things – the process hurts. No matter what.

It will not feel good when you are getting your ass kicked in practice by a kid you would normally beat because you are working on a skill that you are not good at yet.

It won’t feel good. 
But it is necessary. 

It is necessary if you want to grow as an athlete and want to reach the highest level of the sport that you can.

Embrace the hurt
Embrace the change

The change will have a positive effect on you if you allow it to.

What does it look like to fight as hard as you can all the time? 
Whether it be in sports, work, or your personal life.  If you resolved to fight no matter what, what would change?
I believe that once you make the decision to fight as hard as you can, life becomes a lot easier and you have to ability to get a lot better much faster. 

Here’s why:
Your mental capacity is no longer taken up by the daily decision-making process of whether or not you will fight. 
You feel sick?  You still fight.  You still work toward your goal.
Your leg hurts?  You still fight.  You still give it all that you have.
You're tired? You still fight.  Because that is what you do.

When you have this level of resolve you allow your mental energy to be taken up by other more important thoughts because you have already made the decision to fight as hard as you can no matter what.

You fight
every. freaking. time.

Because that is what you do. 

What is the balance between having no plan and having too rigid of a plan? 

On one hand you go with the flow and have a mentality of whatever happens, happens. On the other had you have a really rigid, strict plan.  You lay your whole life out and follow it without diverging. 
 
Both of these are great qualities to have – but the real power lies in the middle.

It is important to have a plan laid out – but it’s as equally important to have the willingness to diverge from the plan when necessary.
 
I encourage you to have a plan - a well thought out, intentional plan.
But I also encourage you to be willing to diverge when you see it to be necessary. 
 
The power that the middle presents is important.  Being willing to see opportunity that wasn’t a part of the plan and choose it because it is the next right step.