I know that I am not the only person to have big internal battles, so today I will share a little about mine.

When my day begins roughly around 2:30 am five days a week, the first of my daily battles kicks off.  I may wake up just before my alarm, in which case I wonder to myself if I should close my eyes or just get up.  Often I am shocked into alertness by my alarm and I dream about what it would like to just turn it off and roll back over.  I always get up, because a few minutes extra sleep will make no difference. It may sound crazy, but I enjoy getting an early start on my day.

After I have read the news and enjoyed a cup of coffee, I take my dogs out for a long hike at about 3am.  During my walk I judge how banged up I am from the day before. My leg, foot, shoulder, back or a combination of them all, may hurt.  

It may play out in my mind something like this: I am not going to do everything today. Maybe I’ll just do half a workout or I’ll just move around.  Then I think about my end goals and I know I will do what I need to do.

The bottom line is we all struggle with many things every day.  We know what we should do and yet we often settle for what is easy to do.  

This is where personal responsibility comes into play.  We as adults should know the cost of any decision as well as understand the reward.  We are the ones who will ultimately need to take action to reach our goals.

It is hard, not fun or popular and at times we may feel like we are missing out.  If we are honest with ourselves, we all know deep down what choices we should make for ourselves.

Making better choices is a learned behavior and it takes work. The good news is if we practice it, it gets easier.  It may be really hard to get up before the time you usually do to get in a workout, but after a few weeks of doing it, it becomes a habit.  Keeping our ultimate goals in mind is a great help when we become distracted by something. Immediate gratification is tempting, but if we change the way we look at life, we come to understand while it looks, tastes or feels good at the time it is not greater than the alternative prize.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.